Month: September 2025

Piotr Szczerek, the Polish CEO caught swiping an autographed hat away from a young boy at the US Open, has finally apologized for his actions.

Szczerek drew the ire of sports fans worldwide when video of him grabbing a hat belonging to tennis star Kamil Majchrzak away from a young boy began going viral. Majchrzak later met the boy, named Brock, in person on Saturday and presented him with a new signed hat and other memorabilia.

“Obviously, it was some kind of confusion,” Majchrzak said of the incident, confirming that Szczerek sponsors his tennis federation in Poland.

Majchrzak, the 76th-ranked player in the world, had just beaten ninth-seeded Karen Khachanov on Thursday and was signing autographs post-match when the matter occurred.

‘A painful but necessary lesson’

Szczerek, the founder and leader of the paving company Drogbruk, had avoided commenting on the controversy until this morning.

In a statement on Facebook originally written in Polish, Szczerek apologized for his actions and called the entire ordeal a “painful but necessary lesson in humility.”

“In connection with the situation that happened during Kamil Majchrzak’s match at the US Open, I would like to unequivocally apologize to the injured boy, his family, as well as all the fans and the player himself,” Szczerek wrote. “I have made a huge mistake.

“Emotionally, in the crowd cheering after the victory, I was convinced that the tennis player was passing his hat in my direction – for my sons who had asked for autographs earlier. The misconception caused me to pull out my hand.”

Szczerek also said he returned the hat to the boy and apologized to the youngster’s family.

“I hope I’ve at least partially repaired the damage that was done,” he added.

Setting the record straight on ‘statements’

Prior to today, there had been various “statements” or comments floating around on the internet from people purporting to be Szczerek or his wife.

None of them were authentic, which Szczerek cleared up in his Facebook address Monday.

“I also want to make it clear, neither myself, nor my wife, nor my sons have commented on this situation on social media as well as on any portal,” he wrote. “We have not used the services of any law firm in this regard. All alleged statements appearing on the web are not ours.”

At the end of his statement, Szczerek added that he had turned off comments on the post for the sake of his family.

What’s next for the ‘millionaire’ CEO?

After Szczerek was identified as the man in the video, commenters flooded his company’s social media and job site pages with angry words, denouncing the CEO and Drogbruk as a whole.

Moving forward, Szczerek said he will devote his time to helping repair the trust between himself and the general public.

“For years, together with my wife, I have been involved in helping children and young athletes, but this situation showed me that one moment of carelessness can undo years of work and support,” the millionaire executive wrote. 

“Therefore, I will engage even more actively in initiatives supporting children and youth, as well as in actions against violence and hate. I believe that only through deeds can I rebuild the lost trust.”

Josh Duhamel has been out of the Hollywood spotlight for a while, and it’s because he’s been living off the grid in what he calls his “doomsday cabin” in Minnesota. The Transformers star spoke with People and revealed that when it comes to a possible apocalypse, he feels somewhat prepared.

“Well, I have enough,” said Duhamel. “Not 100%. Probably 70%.”

He admits that his cabin still needs some work to be fully self-sufficient and ready to survive anything. When it comes ot his own skills, Duhamel says he needs to work more on his survival skills.

“I could be a better hunter, I could be a better fisherman. I could stockpile a little more food supply,” he admits.

Duhamel left Los Angeles to live off the grid in a cabin he spent 15 years building on an empty half-parcel of land he bought, about an hour-and-a-half away from Fargo, N.D. Over the years, the land has expanded, but it originally didn’t have any running water, electricity, or other ammenities.

The actor lives on the land with his wife Audra Mari and their 1-year-old son Shephard and, Duhamel’s 11-year-old son, Axl, who was from his previous marriage with Fergie.

When it comes to why he bought the land and moved away from Hollywood, he explains, “I make movies and TV shows, and I love it, I truly do love it, but I had this calling.”

He wanted “to go and really do things with my hands again — fix things, make things, and just do the basic things that we take for granted.”

When it comes to his home’s seclusion, he admits that it’s a needed break from the world of technology, especially how artificial intelligence (AI) tends to “scare” him. While many may see his cabin as part of an apocalyptic safehold, he explains it’s something more.

“But the truth is, yes, people want to call it a doomsday prepper thing, but it’s really not that,” he explains. “I’m really more of a guy who wants to stay true to my roots, get back to the basics, hone whatever basic skills I need.”

“I don’t think that we’re in any dire situation that we have to worry about prepping for doomsday, but it is good to have some of those skills,” he added.

Duhamel currently stars in the Netflix series Ransom Canyon, which was renewed for a second season in June 2025. He also stars in the 2025 action movie Off the Grid.

The fall season is nearly here, and for many film fans that means the debut of some of the year’s most anticipated films. The blockbusters and mass-appeal spectacles of the summer will slowly make way for more nuanced and elevated films, and reactions from an upcoming release have fans excited.

A new horror movie is coming to Netflix, and some of the biggest names in Hollywood are attached. The film recently premiered at the Venice International Film Festival, and the audience was so moved by what they saw that they gave it a standing ovation.

With only a short time left before the film is available to the public, the movie is already receiving some of the highest praise in the industry.

What Movie Caused The Incredible Fan Reaction?

According to Variety, Guillermo del Toro’s “Frankenstein” has been one of the most-talked about and well-regarded films in Venice this year. The movie is up for the prestigious Golden Lion award at the festival, and if it wins, it would join some elite company.

Poor Things (2023), Joker (2019), The Wrestler (2008) and Brokeback Mountain (2004) all won the award before going on to experience more success and fanfare during award season. Del Toro won the award himself for 2017’s “The Shape of Water.”

“Frankenstein” was reportedly so well-received by audiences at the festival that they applauded for 13 minutes once it was over. The near-three hour epic features an impressive cast, some of whom were visibly emotional after the response to their new film.

The film will be a retelling of the classic monster story, following a scientist’s descent into madness as he attempts to build a fearsome monster. The film stars “Euphoria” alum Jacob Elordi as the titular monster. He’s joined by Golden Globe winner Oscar Isaac, Mia Goth and Christoph Waltz.

How Are the Filmmaker and Cast Approaching the Film?

“There’s so many different layers to the costume,” Elordi said in an interview with Variety about the movie. “When he’s born, he’s wearing nearly nothing. His chest is open and his head is high. Then, as he starts to experience pain, as we do as a teenager, he starts to hunch his shoulders. And as an adult, he closes off.”

Del Toro noted that this film has been a project that he’s wanted to make for a long time.

“I’ve been following the creature since I was kid. I waited for the movie to be done in the right conditions, both creatively in terms of achieving the scope to make it different, and to make it at a scale that you could reconstruct the whole world,” said the longtime director.

“Frankenstein” is set to release on Netflix on November 7, and fans in select cities will be able to see the film in a limited theatrical release starting on October 17.

Back in January 2020, a Delta Airlines flight dumped fuel over residential areas and schools near Los Angeles, which led to a class-action lawsuit. Delta Airlines has agreed to pay $79 million to settle, without accepting responsibility, to escape the financial burden of trial proceedings.

In the settlement of the incident, a Boeing 777-200 was en route from Los Angeles to Shanghai with 149 passengers and 16 crew, when it began to experience engine troubles. Having to return to Los Angeles International Airport, the airline explained that one of the plane’s two engines had lost thrust after takeoff.

The plan was fueled for a 13-hour flight and exceeded the maximum landing weight by 160,000 pounds to make a safe landing. Rather than disposing of fuel over uninhabited areas, the 15,000-gallon dump occurred at low altitude.

After the plane landed safely, local firefighters were dispatched to Cudahy, where teachers and students were exposed to jet fuel. Nearly 60 students and teachers were medically examined, with some having minor skin and lung irritation, but none required hospitalization.

Park Avenue Elementary School in Cudahy filed the lawsuit, explaining that the fuel fell from the sky like rain and landed on their skin, clothes, and eyes. Shortly after, some of the residents of Cudahy also filed a lawsuit over the incident.

According to the airline, they try to avoid landing with a full fuel carrier as it can lead to damaging the aircraft, which could be costly. In documents of the lawsuit obtained by The Independent, Delta Airlines explained the pilot’s decision to dump fuel was “to reduce the serious risks of flying and landing an overweight airplane on just one engine.”

The FAA launched an investigation into the incident, wondering why fuel was dumped improperly over populated areas at low altitude, and noted that fuel dump procedures require dispersion at higher altitudes. Ultimately the FAA cleared the pilots of wrongdoing, stating they followed emergency procedures.