Hollywood legend Brad Pitt was once ‘kidnapped’ in public, and police didn’t even respond to calls from worried witnesses.

The actor was simply in line at Pink’s Hot Dogs in Los Angeles when he was ‘abducted’ and thrown into a van, in front of the shocked public.

Here’s some background for you: It’s the early 2000s, ‘wazzaaaaap’ is still a thing, flip phones are the new craze and Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston are Hollywood’s hottest couple.

Yes, all of that did happen over 20 years ago and I hope you feel as old as I do.

Anyway, one of the most popular series in pop culture at the time was Jackass.

The reality comedy franchise featured crazy stunts, pranks and general dangerous behaviour that the cast exhibited for real, no strings attached.

I mean, who could complain? A bunch of guys jumping over things and getting hurt for our entertainment – it felt like a win-win.

Featuring big names Steve-O and Johnny Knoxville alongside their daring cast, they cultivated a whole generation with their strange shenanigans.

It resulted in three seasons of TV shows and several movies, with the latest coming out in 2022.

MTV

And guess what? Pitt was a huge fan.

He loved the franchise so much that he asked Knoxville if he could be a part of it.

So the Jackass guys arranged a one minute bit in their last episode on TV, fittingly called ‘The Abduction’.

In a YouTube video called ‘Exploiting My Most Famous Friends’, Steve-O explained: “You would not believe how much crazy s**t I’ve done with super famous people.

“Like Brad Pitt, we straight up kidnapped his a** off the sidewalk in front of a bunch of people.

“And it was okay because we planned it ahead of time with the cops, who knew to disregard 911 calls about Brad Pitt being kidnapped.”

MTV

In all fairness, some people did approach the van as Pitt was picked up, screaming for help.

One man even called the police and said: “Brad Pitt was in line and he was just kidnapped and throw into a van, I’m really not kidding.”

Which is quite hilarious if you know what’s going on.

In the YouTube video, Steve-O also went on to tell the story of how he presented an award at the VMAs, stapling the card to his chest before revealing that the winner was Eminem.

The rapper took to the stage and said: “This guy’s really bleeding!”

Eminem shook Steve-O’s hand as the blood ran down his abdomen, but could you imagine something like that happening today?

I don’t think it’d be possible, Jackass really were one-of-a-kind.

When you think of Ferrari zooming down a racetrack, the first colour you think of is red, obviously.

For decades the iconic race cars have been painted with their famous Rosso Corsa shade of red (‘racing red’).

However, at the Miami Grand Prix this weekend Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc are sporting bright blue overalls and team wear.

Including team principal Fred Vasseur, Ferrari are swapping out the iconic red for today’s (5 May) race as a bit of a one-off for a important celebration – from the pit crew to the vehicles themselves.

Yep, the entirety of the Italian constructor will be tearing up the track in two shades of blue.

Ferrari are in blue this weekend. (Qian Jun/MB Media/Getty Images)

One is Azzurro La Plata (a light shade of blue) featured heavily on Alberto Ascari’s overalls, Ferrari’s first ever F1 world champ back in 1952.

And the second is Azzurro Dino (a darker shade) which was worn by the likes of Niki Lauda and Clay Regazzoni.

Ferrari have explained that these shades of blue will be replacing the reds in Miami as this weekend marks the 70^th anniversary of its presence in North America.

The iconic red cars have been synonymous with Rosso Corsa since the 1920s and they were changed to blue and white for the final two races of the 1964 season, reflecting the colours of the United States’ flag.

Ferrari explained this weekend’s change from red to blue in a statement.

Charles Leclerc in blue. (Qian Jun/MB Media/Getty Images)

“Ferrari is looking forward to a memorable weekend in Miami, hosting several activities linked to the marque’s tradition and passion for innovation in this its seventieth year on the North American market,” the team said on 1 May.

“The Scuderia will be one of the stars of the show over the Floridian weekend and the cars will sport a special livery celebrating two colours from its past, Azzurro La Plata and Azzurro Dino. These shades of blue were part of daily life in Maranello for many years and are now coming back into play after an absence of around fifty years. The Miami weekend will also provide an amazing backdrop for HP’s debut as the team’s new title partner.”

The Miami Grand Prix starts at 9pm BST at the Miami International Autodrome around the Hard Rock Stadium.

Brits can watch the iconic race broadcasted live on Sky Sports F1.

The Monaco F1 Grand Prix was stopped less than a minute in after a freak crash, and Jeremy Clarkson had something to say about it.

This afternoon (Sunday 26 May), the Formula One race was stopped in the French Riviera-facing city when Red Bull driver Sergio Perez was red flagged after a few corners following a collision with a couple of other drivers.

The Mexican driver collided with Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg despite being the leading car of the trio.

Magnussen tagged Perez’s car, which sent him spinning, taking Hulkenberg with him in a crash that looked quite serious at first.

It happened on the hill from Sainte Devote – with the car being destroyed almost completely on impact as well.

Three of the four wheels on the car flew off, but the driver walked away unharmed, with the race having to be halted as the car hit the barrier on the famous narrow roads of Monaco.

It took all three of the drivers out of the race within seconds, as Hulkenberg was heard raging: “That was unnecessary.”

It was a controversial moment as the build-up to the race raised questions about the safety of continuing to race the Monaco Grand Prix, with its small roads and tight corners a potential hazard to drivers.

And former Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson was quick to share his opinion on the crash on social media.

The crash looked brutal. (F1 TV)

Clarkson, an avid Formula 1 fan wrote on X: “That wasn’t K Mag’s (Kevin Magnussen’s) fault in my opinion. OK. It definitely wasn’t K Mag’s fault. Even Jenson now agrees.”

However, users didn’t seem to fully agree with the 64-year-old’s assessment of the situation.

One posted: “Not sure. Although there was a gap I don’t know where he thought he was gonna go and end up.”

A second replied: “Perez knew he was there. He made a choice.”

While a third wrote: “Magnussen, just like in his early F1 years. I thought he would have learned.”

Magnussen himself seemed to agree with Clarkson though, telling Sky Sports after the crash: “From my point of view, I had a good part of my front on Perez’s rear and when he went to the wall I got pushed to the wall and made contact with him.

Jeremy Clarkson and controversy, a match made in heaven. (Qian Jun/MB Media/Getty Images)

“I trusted he was going to leave space for me since I was there. It’s not a corner where you’re braking into it, it’s a bend on the straight so you have to have a car otherwise you leave the other guy no option.”

He concluded: “From my point of view, I was there and I got squeezed to the wall.”

That hasn’t been the only incident though, as Scuderia Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz was involved in a minor coming together with McLaren driver, Oscar Piastri – with the former suffering a puncture as a result.

Alpine drivers Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly also made contact just before the tunnel section, with Ocon forced to retire from the race afterwards.

There are some movies that are just so iconic you can’t imagine them being any other way, or featuring anyone else.

But at the same time, those films are so iconic, you can’t believe any actor would turn down the opportunity to star in them.

And yet, Brad Pitt and Will Smith both turned down a role in possibly one of the most iconic flicks ever, and them starring in it could have changed the entire thing.

No, it wasn’t the cinematic masterpiece Moana, or last year’s Barbie, or even one of the big Marvel smashes – it was actually The Matrix.

Pitt and Smith were both offered the role of Neo. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

Joining the likes of Madonna to say no to the 1999 film, both Pitt and Smith shook their heads at the chance to feature in the Wachowski sci-fi action classic.

Although, one of them must have turned it down first, as both said no to playing the legendary role of Neo – eventually filled perfectly by Keanu Reeves, of course.

Back in 2020, Pitt was being honoured with the Maltin Modern Master Award at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival when he was asked to share a role he had passed up on.

“I’ll give you one, only one, because I really believe it was never mine,” he said.

The Fight Club star said he ‘did pass’ on the Matrix as he joked, he ‘took the red pill’.

Pitt explained: “I come from a place, maybe it’s my upbringing, [where] if I didn’t get it, then it wasn’t mine. I really believe [the role] was never mine. It was someone else’s.”

Imagine if it had been Pitt or Smith instead. (Warner Bros.)

In 2019, Smith also confirmed the long-running rumour that he’d turned down the opportunity of playing Neo to allow him to take on another role – arguably, a far less major, cult-classic role.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, the Men in Black actor recalled meeting with the Wachowskis, but couldn’t quite get his head around their ideas for bullet-time, or the slow-motion effect that Neo masters in the movie.

“So I made Wild Wild West [instead],” the star admitted – making a reference to the famed flop from the same year as the Matrix that he has seemingly spent the last two decades regretting.

“I’m not proud of it”, he added.

However, Smith did argue he wouldn’t have been quite as effective as Neo compared to Reeves.

“Keanu was perfect, Laurence Fishburne was perfect, so I probably would have messed The Matrix up. I would have ruined it, so I did y’all a favour,” he said.