The Panicking Billionaire; Couture Week’s Power and Fashion; Nadal’s Farewell

Plus: Spielberg's Pet Peeve

View in browser | Update preferences SUBSCRIBE FOR FULL ACCESS MATTHEW LYNCH, EXECUTIVE EDITOR Change is hard. If you're used to things going precisely your way, change is extremely hard. So maybe it shouldn't come as a surprise that many denizens of the uppermost strata of New York's tax bracket have been publicly airing their anxieties in the weeks after democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani's win in the city's Democratic primary for mayor. Today, Vanity Fair's Chris Smith chats to a few such voters as he takes their collective temperature. Not everyone's an out-and-out critic, but there does seem to be plenty of angst to go around. Elsewhere today, an oral history of But I'm a Cheerleader on the 25th anniversary of the queer classic; Rafael Nadal gets a tip of the racquet; and VF's David Canfield talks to Michael Chernus about the unenviable task of playing John Wayne Gacy. More tomorrow… Can Zohran Make Nice With the Billionaires? BY CHRIS SMITH The politically savvy democratic socialist has reached out to Michael Bloomberg, and power broker Kathryn Wylde says he's "calling up everybody I ask him to." Still, Gristedes owner John Catsimatidis will be a tough sell: "This guy knows nothing about nothing!" READ MORE On Our Radar FIRST LOOK No Ordinary Serial-Killer Drama BY DAVID CANFIELD Severance's Michael Chernus reveals why he signed on for Devil in Disguise despite initial misgivings—and what it took to tell such a horrific, disturbing story the right way. READ MORE FASHION WEEK The Stars Take Paris Haute Couture Week BY KASE WICKMAN Where high-profile personalities meet high fashion—and what they wore while doing it. READ MORE STYLE Rafael Nadal's Farewell to Tennis BY SEBASTIÁN FEST As the greatest Spanish athlete of all time enjoys his new life off the court, friends, colleagues, and Nadal himself discuss with VF what comes next. READ MORE Film An Oral History of But I'm a Cheerleader BY AJ MCDOUGALL Natasha Lyonne wasn't at all who director Jamie Babbit had pictured when she'd come up with the idea for her first feature, a razor-sharp satire about a high school cheerleader who is abruptly shipped off to a "homosexual rehabilitation facility." But something about the 19-year-old Lyonne piqued Babbit's interest. So did the rest of the film's cast, which reads like a who's who of future stars: Melanie Lynskey, Michelle Williams, RuPaul Charles, and more. Trapped in what is possibly the campiest conversion camp of all time, the cheerleader naturally finds love—not just with the facility's brooding bad girl, but also with the person facing her in the mirror. In honor of its 25th anniversary, VF spoke to more than 30 people involved in its making: "The [production] signs would say But I'm a Cheerleader," Lyonne said. "I think the local town thought that it was a porn film called Butt I'm a Cheerleader. So they were trying to shut us down. It really taught me to make sure that, whatever you do, make sure your film does not seem like a porn when you put up your location signage." READ MORE But Wait, There's More Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom Reunite On Jeff Bezos's yacht, nonetheless. The Many Spielberg Homages of Jurassic World Rebirth For one harrowing moment during the making of the film, director Gareth Edwards had to tiptoe gently around a giant—Steven Spielberg. Vanity Fair 100 Years Is 50% Off The 2013 coffee-table book covered a century of VF's best, with some images being published for the first time. MORE FROM VANITY FAIR POLITICS BUSINESS HOLLYWOOD STYLE ROYALS CELEBRITY This e-mail was sent to you by VANITY FAIR. To ensure delivery to your inbox (not bulk or junk folders), please add our e-mail address, vanityfair@newsletter.vf.com, to your address book. View our Privacy Policy Unsubscribe Copyright © Condé Nast 2025. One World Trade Center, New York, NY 10007. All rights reserved.