Tag Archives: Celebrities

Andrews testifies in stalker, hotel lawsuit

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By KATIE HOVAN

Earlier this week, Fox sportscaster Erin Andrews finished testifying in a $75 million lawsuit against a stalker and the owner of a Nashville Marriott hotel.

Andrews claims that the hotel allowed a stalker to occupy the room next to hers in 2008. The stalker, Michael David Barrett, recorded nude footage of Andrews through a peephole and leaked the videos onto the Internet. Barrett has since served time in prison for his crime.

Andrews believes both the hotel and her stalker are responsible for emotional damage.

In her testimony, Andrews also alleged that ESPN, her employer at the time, refused to let her continue reporting on college football until she spoke publicly about the matter. Andrews said that the network wanted her to clarify whether or not the incident had been a publicity stunt.

In a field like journalism, where the “truth” is of the utmost importance, Andrews’ situation begs the question: when is human compassion more important than an accurate story?

If you ask me, ESPN undeniably overstepped its boundaries by asking a woman who was a victim of sexual exploitation to relive the incident on national television.

Whether or not it had been a publicity stunt, ESPN should have treated the statements of a fellow employee with the highest respect and consideration. Forcing any person, male or female, to speak about such a sensitive subject is a tasteless invasion of privacy.

I truly hope that Andrews is exaggerating the way ESPN addressed the situation. It would be a shame to learn that such a respected sports news network lacked the basic human compassion necessary in dealing with sexual exploitation.

As a note for other networks in the future: sometimes “getting the story” just isn’t worth the damage to a person’s mental and emotional health. Always be cautious.

Designers support Clinton at NYFW

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By SIDNEY STERLING

As the iconic New York Fashion Week (NYFW) came to a close on the 19th, style gurus, designers and models were buzzing about something other than the latest haute couture.

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Big name designers like Marc Jacobs, Tory Burch and Maxwell Osborne and Dao-Yi Chow of Public School revealed campaign shirts in support of democrat presidential candidate Hillary Clinton on and off the runways of NYFW.

These shirts are a key part of Clinton’s “Made for History” project and all of the profits go directly to her presidential campaign.

The goal of “Made for History” is to include more upscale merchandise to Clinton’s online store, provide an additional way for supporters to express themselves and help gain traction for Clinton’s campaign.

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Each designer was reportedly given free rein for their personal designs and all three t-shirts are priced at $45 and can be purchased on hillaryclinton.com.

After seeing the shirts all over NYFW, celebrities are sharing their comments about the designs on social media.

Kendall Jenner posed in her Marc Jacobs deigned Hillary shirt and posted on her Instagram saying, “Shirt by @themarcjacobs. History by @hillaryclinton. #MadeforHistory #ImWithHer @voguemagazine.”

The New York Times thought the campaign idea was “brilliant” and stated, “Fashion Week is not normally the first event that comes to mind when one thinks of the perfect time to hold a political fund-raiser.”

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However other fashion blogs like Digiday are criticizing Clinton for an “elitist” move.

Adam Wray, the curator of Fashion ReDef newsletter, told Digiday, “My main issue with the t-shirts is simply that they’re ugly and in addition to other millennial-pandering items like the “Chillary Clinton” beer koozie, is not going to help her flagging standing among young people.”

Like it or hate it, people are still talking about Clinton’s latest fashion statement (no, not a different color pantsuit) and chatter creates momentum for political campaigns, which is the ultimate goal.

Facts in ‘The People v. O.J. Simpson’

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By MIA POLLACK

The 10 o’clock time slot Tuesday nights on FX’s hit series “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story” instantaneously take you back to the mid-90s, a time when America was spellbound with the proceedings of the “Trial of the Century.”

I’ve been hooked on the anthology series for the past four weeks, consistently looking for more information to understand the events leading up to and following the murders of Nicole Brown-Simpson and Ronald Goldman.

Much of my understanding has come from multiple media outlets, which every week dissect the series for what the writing staff and production team, lead by Ryan Murphy from “American Horror Story,” got right about the trying time.

The series, which is based on the true events from June 4,1994, through Oct. 3, 1995, also follows suit with the book, “The Run of His Life: The People v. O.J. Simpson” by Jeffrey Toobin. The author told E! News that the series is by no means a documentary, but gives as true to life insights into each of the characters involved.

If you look up the show’s title on Google, the first five news headlines always have seemed to be, “what is fact and what is fiction,” getting attention from multiple publications including The Hollywood Reporter, Entertainment Weekly, Vanity Fair and many more. Khloé Kardashian even took to her own talk show “Kocktails with Khloé” to say she’s never watched it and doesn’t plan to. She also told James Corden on his “The Late Late Show,” that the show has been “sensationalizing” the Kardashian name. She also spoke about a scene in which Simpson, portrayed by Cuba Gooding Jr., tries to take his own life in Kim’s childhood room at her father’s house, was actually her room.

It’s interesting in dissecting what the show has chosen to fictionalize and stay true to, and each week the fact checks and the media interest will continue to grow.

Keeping up with Kanye

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By BREANA ROSS

From his rants on Twitter, to his relationship with Kim Kardashian, to his $53 million debt after the release of his new album, Kanye West seems to always make headlines. Two weeks ago, it was his Twitter spat with rapper Wiz Khalifa that sent social media users into a frenzy. Then it was an offensive lyric against Taylor Swift in his new album that even earned a response from Swift at the Grammy’s. Now it is his feud with music producer Bob Ezrin.

Ezrin denounced Kanye West in an essay for The Lefsetz Letter when he wrote, “Unlike other creators in his genre … it’s unlikely that we’ll be quoting too many of Kanye’s songs 20 years from now. Kanye’s greatest achievements have been in the form of excessive behavior, egomaniacal tantrums and tasteless grandstanding.”

This sent Kanye West into a Twitter rant about Ezrin’s lack of “connection with anything” and irrelevance to the music business. But doesn’t Bob Ezrin have a point here? Every time Kanye West is involved in a dispute or a tantrum, which seems to be quite often, the media is all over it. Why is that?

Most people know by now that Kanye West is an interesting character who never fails to brew drama, whether it is on Twitter or on live music award shows. He is a controversial figure and that’s the thing that makes him a media magnet. Whether we love Kanye West or hate him, we want to see what outrageous thing he is doing or saying next. Right when we tune in to a media outlet to see the latest Kanye spat, the media has achieved its goal.

The news and entertainment media have grabbed our attention. Whether it seems like pointless news or not, the media have got our eyes and ears. So, yes, there are plenty of things we need to know that supersede Kanye West’s latest ventures but by giving that type of news attention, we give media outlets the impression that that is the type of news we want to hear.

The chaotic life of Kanye

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By GRACE BERNARD

Last week, Kanye West kicked off New York Fashion Week with his revolutionary Yeezy Season Three sold-out fashion show and listening party for his new album, “The Life of Pablo,” in Madison Square Garden. But people all over the world were able to score an inside look at the event thanks to today’s media coverage.

In the aftermath of the over-the-top show, the media have spent the past week proving that technology is making fashion and celebrities more accessible than ever before.

Both fashion and traditional news websites began sharing articles featuring pictures and videos from the show that day. Then, the news media focused on West’s outrageous rule list given to models that was leaked through SnapChat and Instagram. Finally, West himself took advantage of the media’s power by announcing that his album would only be available through his subscription-based website and Tidal.

According to its website, Tidal is a “high fidelity music streaming” service. Tidal was also the only website that had access to a live stream of West’s show.

This past week, West has been unable to stay out of the news media. His notorious Tweets made headlines on websites like CNN.com after he claimed to in $52 million worth of personal debt and pleaded with Mark Zuckerberg to donate $1 billion in order to fund his continuous stream of business ventures.

Most recently, the feud between West and Taylor Swift was resurfaced after headlines reported that Swift responded to a lyric in one his new songs about her as being “misogynistic.”

As of Wednesday, news media, particularly online websites as most traditional gossip magazines aren’t published until Friday, have now been running with a leaked recording of West ranting and calling out Swift backstage at “Saturday Night Live” before his performance for the show.

Mega-celebrities such as West, as well as over-the-top fashion brands, are normally inaccessible to the majority of the population. But with the increasing usage and development of social media, they are now becoming a greater part of our everyday lives.

As the population continues its fascination with these once distant concepts, they are becoming more concentrated in traditional new outlets that used to be reserved only for topics of practical importance.

The news media’s normalization of things that used to be such strong symbols of wealth and success begs the question of what will happen to the notion of exclusivity as it becomes more and more available to not just the American public, but the world.

Kanye West’s $53 million debt

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By SARAH BRANDT

“I write this to you my brothers while still 53 million dollars in personal debt… Please Pray we overcome… This is my true heart…” Kanye West.

Kanye West Tweet

Kanye West Tweet

The above-mentioned post came from rapper Kanye West, which he posted on Feb. 13, 2016.

This was just a few days after his “Yeezy Season 3” presentation and his new album release “The Life of Pablo”.

His statement has been publicized all over the news, such as CNN, The Guardian and on Billboard. With this plea, he made himself the target for a lot of Kanye haters. Now hateful memes can be found online, including his comment of his $53 million debt.

West is very popular in the music industry and he had just recently released his brand new, and much anticipated album “The Life of Pablo.” Already, after he presented the world his new record, he received a lot of hate, from viewers and the news, about how his presentation of the album was nothing spectacular and he just simply pressed a button to play his songs. The fact that a few days later he posts this tweet does not make him much liked to a few people.

West had also posted the following, a few minutes later: “Mark Zuckerberg invest 1 billion dollars into Kanye West ideas,” also on Twitter.

This statement is very ironic and funny, as Zuckerberg is the CEO and founder of Facebook and not Twitter, and will most definitely not invest $1 billion for Kanye. The Guardian went on discussing West’s further tweets and pleads to other “tech billionaires.”

Kanye West is a very well known rapper, who just came out with a new “Yeezy” season and a new album, now happens to be in $53 million debt. Hopefully with his tweets, which are very clearly receiving a lot of attention from the media, which is not necessarily always positive, he will soon find someone to relieve and save him from his debt.

The Bowie tribute of all tributes

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By MIA POLLACK

There’s no question that every time Lady Gaga makes an appearance anywhere, she goes all out. I mean, from the hair, the make up and the outfit, she’s always making a statement.

This year, Gaga was asked to perform a tribute to the late, great, David Bowie, and she certainly did not disappoint. From the moment she walked on the carpet in custom Marc Jacobs and a flaming red wig, paying homage to Ziggy Stardust.

When the time for her performance finally came, the crowd that filled the Staples Center went absolutely wild. She ran through 10 of the artist’s hits from the 1970s and 1980s, making it one of the longer, but more technologically advance performances of the night.

During the telecast Monday night, Intel released commercials featuring the singer on how the company collaborated with the star, 29, to bring her performance to life. As ABC News reported, in one of the commercials Gaga explained, “we wanted to create an expression of not only David Bowie’s magic, but also to show that there is magic that can be made with technology.”

Screen Shot 2016-02-18 at 9.33.58 PMAccording to Fox News, Gaga told them that it was one of the most difficult things that she’s ever done, as the icon served as an extremely influential person in her life.

The influence definitely showed in her performance.

The Telegraph from U.K. picked up on the fact that Gaga’s performance was a hybrid of her unique stage presence, along with that of Bowie’s with wide-eyed facial expression and fluid movements. The true strength that the U.K. newspaper thought was her vocals, immaculately imitating Bowie’s strong accent that shined on “Space Oddity,” “Suffragette City,” “Fashio” and “Rebel Rebel.”

Though the performance seemed to be a favorite among the crowd inside and audience watching at home, the one person that did not seem overly thrilled was the late singer’s son, David Jones. Billboard reported that Jones’ Tweeted a cryptic message, which many thought to be a diss to Gaga’s stellar performance. I think he got the idea for this from searching Lady Gaga on Urban Dictionary…

Pope Francis, Trump battle over faith

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By KATIE HOVAN

On Thursday, Pope Francis said in a press conference that Donald Trump “is not a Christian” if he advocates building a wall at the Mexican and U.S. border.

CNN quickly reported on the event with the headline: “Pope suggests Trump ‘is not a Christian.’”

Trump quickly fired back, stating that the Pope does not reserve “the right to question another man’s religion.”

While Trump has every right to defend himself and his religious beliefs, CNN and many major news networks do not understand that sometimes something as little as a headline can add fuel to an already raging fire.

The news media have the ability to stimulate divisiveness whether it is intentional or not, and only later in the article does it explain that the Pope also said he wasn’t fully informed about the situation, but was willing to give Trump the “benefit of the doubt.”

Instead, the news media capitalized on the Pope’s most controversial statement in its headline and throughout the majority of the article.

Trump now has his eyes set on the Pope, adding, “If and when the Vatican is attacked by ISIS … I can promise you that the Pope would have only wished and prayed that Donald Trump would have been president.”

While an initial retaliation is to be expected from Trump, any growing tension between the two of them will be a product of media influence.

Because of the disproportionate reporting and over-exaggeration by the media, people will often fail to realize that the Pope is a religious leader. He was elected under the condition that he would uphold the Catholic values and, whether one agrees with him or not, he was simply answering a question about Trump in accordance with those values.

Rolling Stone’s Grammy moments

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By MARIA LUIZA LAGO

The 58th annual Grammy Awards was full of good performances and tributes to great artists, like David Bowie and Lionel Richie. The Rolling Stone magazine did a review of the 20 best and worst moments but overlooked certain important aspects of some performances, like criticizing Adele for a minor sound issue and putting as the “worst” moment the non-attendance of Rihanna, even knowing she was sick and couldn’t sing.

The magazine analyzed important parts like the performance of Lady Gaga in honor of David Bowie: “her nods to Bowie’s performances showed a true obsessive, what made Gaga’s performance perfect was the way she captured the spirit of the man’s work throughout his career”; and the “notable solo performance” of the artist The Weekend, as well as other great performances of Taylor Swift, The Eagles and Stevie Wonder with the Pentatonix group.

The worst moments, however, were in part understandable. Others weren’t. The tribute to Lionel Richie performed by John Legend, Demi Lovato, Luke Bryan, Meghan Trainor and Tyrese Gibson was good until John Legend stopped singing. Even Lionel Richie, who was at the event, stopped cheering as he listened to his own work being sung by the other performers, as Rolling Stone pointed out.

Another worst moment was the duet of singers Tori Kelly and James Bay that seemed out of pace when both tried to sing both of their singles on the same time, and the music and scenarios were not good enough compared to the other performances.

What I think Rolling Stone may have exaggerated was the fact that one of the “worst” moments was the fact that, in Adele’s performance, the piano microphones fell into the piano strings, making the sound dissonant and, as noted by the magazine, “sounded like a fork on a guitar and a volume drop that nearly silenced the singer.” I think despite the audio trouble, Adele’s performance was good, there was no problem with her voice or whatsoever and I wouldn’t judge as a bad performance someone that wears a “messy bob” as being the worst part of the Grammys.

Also, Rihanna didn’t show up at the event due to bronchitis. Her doctor told her not to sing and the magazine also pointed that out, but still, “Rihanna bails.” Her performance was not even judged as good or bad and her condition forbid her to perform.

Grammys bring race issues onto stage

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By BREANA ROSS

Under the dim lights of the stage, multiple black figures immersed from the darkness in a straight line. As the figures became closer to center stage, it became apparent that they were shackled, chained together. Even closer, it became visible that the figures were dressed as inmates. They continued to walk in unison, closer and closer to full visibility, until the leader of the line reached the microphone that waited in the center of the stage. The head of the line was award-winning rapper Kendrick Lamar and he was about to deliver a controversial, political performance on one of the largest music stages in the world: the Grammys.

Lamar, a popular African American rapper known for his songs about the struggles within the black community, delivered a powerful performance with many messages about racial injustice, African American heritage, and self-hatred intertwined. The performance began with Lamar and his background dancers in chains and dressed as prisoners while he rapped his song “The Blacker the Berry” which discusses oppression issues surrounding the Trayvon Martin case. Lamar rapped, “You hate me, don’t you? You hate my people. Your plan is to terminate my culture,” among other lyrics.

As the mood of the performance shifts, Lamar and his dancers drop their chains and begin to dance. Lamar then walks on to another set on stage with African dancers around a fire and begins to sing, “We gon’ be alright,” a lyric form another one of his popular songs. He ends the performance alone on stage, once again, rapping about racial injustice and oppression towards African Americans as an image of the continent of Africa with the word “Compton” written inside appears on a screen behind him.

Any time an artist, politician, or anyone for that matter, has the courage to speak on an issue of race on such a large stage, it is a hit or miss with the news media. Some times the individual receives enormous praise in the media while other times there is major backlash. In this case, Kendrick Lamar’s Performance was raved about within the media.

USA Today and the Los Angeles Times called Lamar’s performance “the only one that mattered.” CNN and many other popular entertainment news outlets covered his performance, all in a positive light. However, this positive reaction by the news media is drastically different from the reactions spurred by Beyonce’s Super Bowl performance.

Beyonce’s Super Bowl performance was also an attempt to bring light to the struggles of African Americans, but using a different approach. Beyonce’s back-up dancers all sported “Black Panther” attire as their outfits for the performance. Although a subtle message, this sent the media into a frenzy over Beyonce’s intentions. Some claimed the bold move was racist and anti-police.

Others connected the Black Panther reference to support for the Black Live Matter movement. Regardless, the media picks and chooses which racial messages to accept and which to reject. When one decides to discuss the “race issue” on a world stage, there is a risk attached, one that can impact the favorability of the artist in the eyes of the media.

SAG Awards places diversity on display

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By MIA POLLACK

Diversity was the night’s Big Winner. 

Last Saturday, the Screen Actors Guild Awards, or SAGs for short, aired on TBS and TNT. The ceremony, held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, is probably one of the most special evenings to take place during award season.

Why, you may ask?

It is because the small and big screen stars are voting to nominate the work of their peers and later send a few home with the night’s top honors. When the nominations were dolled out in early December, the contenders for the infamous Actor statue came from all walks of life, creed, color and sexual orientation.

It is a great deal of difference compared to the controversial list of all white nominees for this years Academy Awards.

The nominees, which influenced the hashtag #OscarSoWhite, getting the news media and a slew of black actors talking about a boycott of the award show that is set to air on ABC on Feb, 28. Legendary filmmaker Spike Lee took to his Instagram account to say, “we cannot support it and I mean no disrespect.… But, how is it possible for the second consecutive year all 20 contenders under the acting category are white? And let’s not even get into the other branches.”

With the sound of the public and media outrage, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) president, Cheryl Boone Isaacs has even stated to industry publication Deadline that she was disappointed in the way the nominations turned out.The controversy lead the media and the public’s attention to the body of voters that make up AMPAS, mostly “older white males that are out of touch with today’s movie goers.”

Again, this is extremely different from the body of voters that make up the Screen Actors Guild, which is why I think the SAG awards gain so much attention, because actors are giving awards to their peers, making it all that more special.

I remember watching the award show and having actor Idris Elba be a fixture at the podium, having won awards for his work in Netflix’s “Beasts of No Nation” and the BBC’s “Luther,” and saying, “ladies and gentlemen, welcome to diverse TV.”

According to reports from South Florida Times website and the Associated Press, Elba did not make a direct reference to the crisis that has been sweeping through Hollywood over the last few weeks.

There was so much diversity seen through the night at the awards ceremony, and it especially hit home for so many watching at the Shrine or at home on the couch, when “Orange is the New Black” took home gold for the second year in a row for ‘outstanding performance by an ensemble in a comedy series.’”

Laura Prepon, who accepted the award with her cast standing beside her, said, “Look at this stage. This is what we talk about when we talk about diversity. Different race, color, creed, sexual orientation.”

Diversity was definitely a surrounding theme of the evening and no one said it better than Viola Davis, “we’ve become a society of trending topics. Diversity is not a trending topic, it’s just not.”

Steve Harvey’s ‘terrible mistake’

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By ETTY GROSSMAN

For the first time in the history of beauty pageants, the host of the event received even more attention than the contestants themselves.

During the Miss Universe contest on Dec. 20, 2015, host Steve Harvey committed what we can call an epic “oops!” Live on air as he announced that Miss Colombia Ariadna Gutierrez had won the title.

But the joy lasted less than five minutes. While the prettiest woman of the entire universe celebrated, Harvey apologized and announced that he had made a “terrible mistake.”

Colombia was the first runner-up.

What an error! A night that was supposed to be remembered for its culture, perfect bodies, smiles and beautiful women ended up being a story full of irate messages and conspiracy theories.

Social media exploded and everybody had a comment about what had happened. It smelled fishy to many. Some people thought it was a publicity stunt to get everyone talking about Miss Universe when normally no one (except Colombians and Venezuelans) would be talking about it.

Tweets suggested the competition needed a boost so it wouldn’t be difficult to conclude that the crown switcheroo was previously arranged. Vulture’s Joe Adalian, a veteran television industry reporter, said, “everybody wins here ….”

As critics continued growing, others accepted human error as a plausible explanation and asked people not to be so hard on Harvey.

The corporate news media didn’t wait much as well. They focused their resources on every thinkable angle on the error. It was an unusual and very newsworthy situation, but, in my opinion, the media failed this time.

The scandal not only drowned out other important news that happened both before and after Harvey’s “mistake,” but also narrowed the coverage towards two things: Miss Colombia and Steve Harvey; leaving behind who was the actual star of the show: Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach.

The funniest thing is that you may have NO idea who she is. Oh well! Then, let me do what the media didn’t; introduce you to Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach, Miss Universe 2015.

At this point, a really good angle to cover this tremendous scandal would be asking Miss Philippines what she felt or how does she feel now. Give her more importance. At the end of the day, like it or not, she is the one who won.

Cam Newton — Leave the man alone

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By WYATT GELLER

During the past few weeks, there has been much talk about the Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton as his team cruised to a 15-1 regular season record and is now squaring off against the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl 50.

Many people criticized Newton for his touchdown celebrations where he “dabs” in the end zone, which is his signature dance move, along with giving footballs to special fans that wear Panthers gear, mostly kids, after the team scores a touchdown.

The idea I cannot seem to understand is where all this criticism comes from.  Other than stealing a laptop back in college over six years ago, Newton has not had any off the field issues.

Langer Research Associates produced a survey for ESPN Wednesday to ask fans what the big deal is about Newton. More than 62 percent responded that it was due to his style of play on the field, 14 percent said it was a race issue as Newton is black and the other 24 percent were uncertain.

I definitely fall in that 24 percent category, as I do not even know the source of all the criticism.  Maybe they are not used to the recent success the Panthers have had since they became a recent playoff team.  Another suggestion would be the magnitude of the Super Bowl and that Newton is only the 6th black quarterback to play in the Super Bowl, but I do not see a race issue at all.

Michael Rosenberg, who writes for Sports Illustrated, stated that, “I’ve never met anybody who felt that way. I’ve never heard anybody talk about it. I hear people criticizing his critics, but I don’t see the critics themselves.”

This is what other notable people have mentioned including former quarterback Warren Moon and Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman.  Moon is an African-American and he had never faced such backlash as Newton is now.

The media has gotten players and fans opinions, but no exact answer has been given.  That is what bothers me the most, as they need to stop talking about the criticism against Newton, as he does not deserve it.

There is no best case scenario to why there is hate towards Newton, but he knows that none of the reports that the media put out about him will matter on Sunday.

NBC’s ‘Friends’ hold rare reunion

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By MELISSA CABRAL

Looks like they’ll be there for us one more time.

It’s been 12 years since the show’s record-breaking finale aired in 2004. NBC has announced that the stars of the hit show, “Friends”, Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow, Courtney Cox, David Schwimmer and Matt LeBlanc will all take part in a new two-hour special honoring director James Burrows on Sunday, Feb. 21.

Noticeably absent from the announcement is co-star Matthew Perry, who played the sarcastic character, Chandler Bing on the show. It was announced that the actor would not be able to make the reunion as he is in London in rehearsals for his play.

The cast is reuniting to partake in a special tribute honoring the comedic director, Burrows, who directed 15 episodes through out the 10 seasons of the show. Although this is a special about the director, fans from all over the world, including myself, are eager to see the cast mates back together after all these years.

The two-hour “Must-See TV: A Tribute to James Burrows” will air at 9 p.m. ET Feb. 21 on NBC. The special will also bring together other iconic casts. Among them: “Mike & Molly,” “Taxi,” “Cheers,” “Frasier,” “Laverne & Shirley,” “The Bob Newhart Show” and “Will & Grace.”

Media, society and transgender people

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By KATHERINE MOORE

At a time when transgender issues have become more accepting, from Laverne Cox on Netflix’s “Orange is the New Black,” and Caitlin Jenner, the movie released on Nov. 27,  “The Danish Girl,” is bound to get a lot of public attention.

Director Tom Hooper and Producer Anne Harrison tackle a subject matter that hasn’t fully been explored in mainstream movies. The film tells the true story of Einar, a painter who struggles with his identity in Copenhagen, 1926. Over time Einar transforms into his female alter ego, Lili Elbe, a woman who he and his wife dreamed up. Einar learns that he prefers to be in her body and struggles to find a doctor to have her cured.

Lili Elbe is one of the first-known trans women to undergo gender confirmation surgery. Viewers see her transformation and the consequences that come with it. The audience will get a grasp on the realities and politics of the early 20th century, when transgender people were considered abnormal or to have a medical condition.

Eddie Redmayne, the main character, had much difficulty getting into Lili’s role, as he wasn’t initially aware of the struggles of transgender people. The Los Angeles Times stated that he said, “In 31 states, you can still be fired for being transgender. The violence to trans women of color is confounding.”

In 2012, 53 percent of LGBT homicide victims were transgender women. The majority were transgender women of color, according to GLAAD, an organization that promotes cultural change. As Redmayne learned more about his role with the help of the transgender community, he realized the importance for the issue to be on the big-screen.

Critics in the LGBTQ community have complained about the lack of courage in having Lili’s role go to an actor who identifies with the gender assigned at birth. The Hollywood Reporter also complained by saying that people would have preferred a more adventurous approach to the story, especially since the “transgender representation has taken over from gay rights as the next equality frontier.”

Although some might argue the movie is coming out a little too late, I believe that it is the perfect time since the recent legalization of gay marriage and Jenner’s high-profile gender transition. The film will bring people an understanding of what the transgender transition process is like.

While the movie may be one step forward for the public to gain insight, I also believe that there should be other methods that people can learn about the community. If it weren’t for taking University of Miami’s gender studies course, I would not understand LGBTQ because I would only know about it from what I see on social media. The media mostly displays the physical transformation that people go through, causing viewers to misunderstand what happens psychologically.

The New Yorker stated that in a survey by the National Center for Transgender Equality and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, 41 percent of transgender respondents said they had attempted suicide. It is facts like these that should be brought to the public spotlight so people can learn from places other than celebrities and movies about the difficulties of being transgender.

UCLA’s Williams Institute estimates there are 700,000 transgender people in the United States. Yet according to a GLAAD’s poll, only 8 percent of Americans say they personally know someone who is transgender. As movies and media presence of trans people is advancing, it is time that policies and acceptance towards them are, too.

Hoverboard grows in popularity

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By KATHERINE MOORE

Hoverboards, Rideables, Swagways, no matter the name, they are a new rising fame.

The hands-free, two-wheel model is No. 1 on Amazon’s Best Sellers list. Most boards can be bought online for a cost ranging from $400 to $1,800.

Celebrities like Justin Bieber, Kendall Jenner and Jamie Foxx promote the boards on their social media. It’s the latest must-have gadget and people are riding them in malls, to classes and even on public roads.

The futuristic transportation device is favored by the younger generation, but as parents and retirees begin to show interest, more and more property owners are banning them. Now they are also becoming illegal in certain areas of the world.

The state of New York does not consider them motor vehicles so they cannot be registered. They are illegal, according to the New York City Police Department and the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles. People riding them in public can receive a fine that is up to $500.

The New York Times stated that the police department at the University of California, Los Angeles does not allow Hoverboards on walkways and hallways because people have complained about collisions.

California will have a new law effective on Jan. 1 The electric-powered boards will only be allowed on bike lanes and pathways. The law requires riders to be at least 15 and wear the same protection that is mandatory when riding a bike.

Customs and patrol officers at Los Angeles International Airport handcuffed the American rapper, Wiz Khalifa when he was riding his Hoverboard. On Twitter, he claimed that he was handcuffed because he refused to get off his transporter when zooming around in the airport.

British authorities also declared the boards illegal to ride in public. Legislation considers them vehicles that cannot be driven on sidewalks and the road. The BBC says that they are banned under section 72 of the Highway Act 1835 for use on public pavements and roads in the UK. The only place they are legal is on private property with the owner’s consent.

With Black Friday and Cyber Monday just around the corner, Target is reducing the price of the Hoverboard by $100. However, as more places ban where they can be ridden, will consumers continue to purchase this Christmas list must have?

‘Offend America Again’ Trump on SNL

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By ELAYNA PAULK

NBC is currently under fire for being the hosting network for “Saturday Night Live,” which has recently agreed to allow Donald Trump to be its most recent special guest.

Protesters argue that it is the values of Donald Trump that make his appearance on a comedy show “not funny” and “blatantly disrespectful”. American Actor, John Leguizamo has gone as far as boycotting the show and says that if Trump Hosts then “I won’t watch SNL anymore”.

“I’m all for freedom of speech, don’t get me wrong. I believe in freedom of speech,” Leguizamo said in a Yahoo News interview. “This is different … If he had said those things about any other ethnic group, he would not be on that SNL.”

Leguizamo continued, “I mean for him to go around saying that Mexican people are coming across the border are murders and rapists and all the horrible things he said is so dangerous,” Leguizamo said in the interview. “People have been hurt because of his words, because he incited. And he said, ‘well, my followers are very passionate,’ which is also his lack of sympathy and empathy is ridiculous.”

Media outlets such as ABC, Entertainment Weekly, Business Insider, and CNN Money have since reported the incident by remaining neutral. The issue remains though, if we keep using Donald Trump for comedic entertainment, can we trust him as a politician?

Instagram star quits social media

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BY MEREDITH SLOAN

Australian model and Instagram star Essena O’Neill announced she was quitting social media this week via YouTube.

https://youtu.be/Xe1Qyks8QEM

According to ABC News, O’Neill, who had more than 700,00 followers on Instagram and 260,000 subscribers on YouTube, posted a shocking confession announcing that social media made her “miserable” and that online and mobile-sharing platforms can be unhealthy. She decided that she wanted to shut down all of her accounts.

 

According to CNN, O’Neill’s social media friends Nina and Randa Nelson published a YouTube video alleging she was doing this as a stunt to get more followers.

https://youtu.be/WB3HtCMfZic

All social media platforms have been exploding with both support and opposition for O’Neill’s stance. This debate has been a hot topic for news organizations alike.

 

I support O’Neill’s stance because her issue with social media is situational. She said that she didn’t like how the pressure to be perfect influenced her mental health. She also said that she wanted to set a good example for her younger sister and show her that she doesn’t have to be perfect and likeable online to be happy.

 

I do think that social media outlets are informative and necessary in this day and age for the spreading of information. Although, I don’t think that personal business accounts like O’Neill that promote unrealistic body images and clothing brands are necessary.

Instagram star talks about social media

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By SAMANTHA COHEN

This past weekend Australian Instagram star Essena O’Neill garnered a lot of attention after speaking out against social media

Her Instagram “fame” of more than 700,000 followers and YouTube channel of over 200,000 followers showed an inside look of her healthy vegan lifestyle and fitness advice.

She abruptly changed her Instagram name to “Social Media is Not Real Life” and deleted multiple photos replacing them with rewritten captions. She revealed the enormous amount of work and effort that goes into creating an image of her-self that in reality is not real.

I admire what O’Neill has done and her message is highly important in today’s society where social media are everything to millennials. I feel that this will allow the image of what looks like to be a perfect and ideal life, will show that things are not as perfect as they seem.

With female body image issues at an all time high this admission will show that no one is perfect. For example, O’Neill was particularly frank about her attempts to change the way her body looked in her photos re-captioning a bikini picture with “A 15-year-old-girl that calorie restricts and excessively exercises.”

O’Neill has been able to take the social media platform she has and put it towards social awareness.  Societal culture today promotes media and the fame that comes along with it, as being the ultimate accomplishment, by creating an illusion to an idea of a filtered life.

O’Neill says that everything she was doing was edited and contrived.

Numerous news media organizations from The New York Times to Teen Vogue to Yahoo each covered this story, which has truly become a major eye opener into the life of social media celebrities. I feel that this has really been the first time someone as shared what its really like. As someone who is a social media user, I find it highly interesting that what I see on Instagram might not be what it seems.

Lego versus Ai Weiwei

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By LINGYUE ZHENG

Artist Ai Weiwei accused Lego of “censorship and discrimination” because the latter refused to sell its bricks to him because his new artistic work may convey a political statement.

According to Ai, Lego rejected Ai’s bulk order of bricks, saying that its bricks could not be used for any artworks that may of “any political, religious, racist, obscene or defaming statements.”

In response to Lego’s refusal, many fans and artists demonstrate their supports for Ai. Many of them donated their bricks to Ai, hoping that their donations could adding the amount of bricks to the degree that Ai can accomplish his Melbourne show. Some people also expressed their opinions on their social website such as Instagram or Twitter. One used Lego’s toy bricks to spell out the word “I support Ai Weiwei” and added a cutline that “we won’t be buying anymore.”

Ai wrote on his Instagram that “Lego will tell us what to do, or not to do. That is awesome!” to make an irony here because Lego has a slogan “everything is awesome”.

Ai was an artist known for his fierce criticism of Chinese government. Last year, Ai used Lego bricks in his art show at the former Alcatraz prison, near San Francisco, to create portraits of 175 dissidents who had been jailed or exiled, from Nelson Mandela to Edward Snowden. He intended to hold a similar art display in Melbourne.

Ai has changed the theme of his upcoming artistic show to defend freedom of speech and “political art,” due to Lego’s rejection of selling its bricks.

From where I stand, I consider that Lego’s behavior is for the sake of its future cooperation with the Chinese government. Lego plans to build a new Legoland in Shanghai. For Lego, building a theme park is apparently more profitable than selling bricks to an artist. Given that Chinese government is not welcoming Ai, Lego would absolutely not offend and annoy its future cooperator, Chinese government, by selling Ai bricks and indirectly assist Ai to demonstrate unpleasant arts to Chinese government.

Essentially, it is another story about people who stand on the tip pyramid of money and power win the game, or rather, make the rule.