Quantcast
Channel: Celebrity - The Huffington Post
Viewing all 15269 articles
Browse latest View live

Jim Bob And Michelle Duggar Break Their Silence In First Interview Following Child Molestation Scandal

0
0
On Wednesday, "19 Kids and Counting" stars Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar broke their silence for the first time since their oldest son Josh admitted that he molested five underage girls, including his sisters Jessa and Jill. The Duggar parents additionally admitted to keeping the matter from police.

In an two-part interview with Fox News' Megyn Kelly, the first of which aired Wednesday night, the conservative Christians, who follow the Quiverfull movement, explained how they responded when their son first confessed to them.

"There so much grief in our hearts. I think, as parents, we felt, 'We're failures,'" Michelle said. "We've tried to raise our kids to do what's right – to know what's right – and yet one of our children made some really bad choices and I think, as a parent, just, we were devastated."

Jim Bob told Kelly that Josh came to them saying he was "curious" about girls, and had touched them over their clothes while they slept.

The Duggar family patriarch noted that none of the girls were aware of what had been done to them. But the touching and curiosity was not an isolated incident.

“After that third time he came to us is where we really felt like, we have done everything we can as parents…We need to get help," Jim Bob said, adding that their solution was to send Josh to Little Rock, Arkansas to do construction work with a family friend, who was not a licensed counselor.






Jim Bob also noted that, "As parents you aren't mandatory reporters." He pressed that Josh "was still a kid and he was still a juvenile. He wasn't an adult...This wasn't rape or anything like that. This was touching over the clothes."

Both parents admitted they felt guilty after learning Josh's behavior continued, but "the truth is that kids will make their own choices," Jim Bob said.

The Duggars claimed that all their children received professional counseling, including Josh, who Michelle said paid for his own treatment.

When asked if they were worried the treatment didn't work, Jim Bob said, "Josh is a changed person."

Michelle also revealed the family now has "safe guards" in place, including not letting the boys babysit, not letting younger ones sit on older boys' laps, and not playing hide and go seek.

The Duggars attempted to turn things around, claiming that the real injustice is that police records were allegedly illegally obtained, and Josh's sealed juvenile records were exposed.

In Touch, the magazine that broke the story and published the police reports, has repeatedly stated it obtained information through the Freedom of Information Act. Despite this, Jim Bob told Kelly he's talking to lawyers about possibly suing a woman who allegedly leaked the report to the magazine.

And while the names of Josh's familial victims had never been publicly identified, their identities were never a secret to anyone who could do the math.

Sisters Jessa Seewald, 22, and Jill Dillard, 24, (née Duggar) also broke their silence, confirming they were two of the minors whom Josh molested -- though those aren't the term they're using.

"I do want to speak up in his defense against people who are calling him a child molester or a pedophile or a rapist, some people are saying,” Jessa told Kelly in an interview that will air on Friday . “I’m like, ‘That is so overboard and a lie really.’ I mean people get mad at me for saying that, but I can say this because I was one of the victims.”

Jessa did, however, call her brother's actions “very wrong.”



(Left to right: Duggar sisters Joy-Anna, Jessa, Jinger, Jill and Jana)



Because the statute of limitation on this case has expired, Josh can no longer be prosecuted despite his recent confession.

However, In Touch has obtained a new police report from the Washington County Sheriff’s Office that states Josh told his father on three separate occasions that he performed sexual acts on four of his younger sisters and a family friend. The document, which isn't as heavily redacted as previous ones, makes it clear that Josh was 15 at the time he abused a 5-year-old girl and committed at least seven acts of molestation.

In the weeks since the scandal broke, TLC has pulled "19 Kids and Counting" from its schedule, but has yet to make a long-term decision about the fate of the show -- even as more than 20 advertisers have pulled sponsorship from the series.

Following his confession in May, Josh resigned as executive director of Tony Perkins' conservative and anti-gay group Family Research Council Action. The 27-year-old is married with three children and a fourth due in July.

The Duggars' decision to give Fox News their first interview isn't surprising, given that the network largely ignored the story the week it first broke. According to Media Matters, Fox News spent less than two minutes covering the Duggar molestation story between May 21 and May 25, compared to almost an hour of coverage from CNN and MSNBC.

Additionally, Kelly slammed media coverage surrounding the family on Monday, asking why so little attention has been paid to the fact that police records of someone, who was at the time a teenager, were released to In Touch.

“Josh Duggar’s private, personal, sealed records have been improperly released. It doesn’t excuse any of his behavior,” Kelly said. “It’s one thing if the Duggars want to talk about it … [but] the media didn’t even pause. And there is a question about why they were so excited to feast on this carcass.”

Again, In Touch has stated they obtained police records legally through the Freedom of Information Act.

"The Kelly File" will sit down with Jill Dillard and Jessa Seewald again on Friday night at 9 p.m. Watch part one of the interview above.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.


Amy Schumer's Totally Real, Rad And NSFW Glamour Awards Acceptance Speech

0
0
British writer Caitlin Moran may have put it best: Amy Schumer “tore the fucking roof off” Tuesday with a hilarious NSFW acceptance speech at the Glamour Women of the Year Awards.

Accepting the award for Trailblazer of the Year at the London event, Schumer was at once bawdy, empowering and wonderfully unpretentious.

“I’m like 160 pounds right now, and I can catch a dick whenever I want, and that’s the truth,” she said at the start of her speech to wild applause.

Schumer joked about how female comedians are typically treated poorly in photo shoots, and slammed some women’s magazines for making you feel “bad for just being born with a pussy.” She also gave a shout-out to actress Goldie Hawn, who was at the event, for being “beautiful and vulnerable and fucking hilarious.”

Several celebrities praised the 34-year-old comedian for her laugh-out-loud acceptance speech. Kerry Washington, who clinched the International TV Actress award at Tuesday’s event, said it “gave me life.”










Watch Schumer’s acceptance speech for yourself in the video above.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Miley Cyrus' Audition Tape For 'Hannah Montana' Resurfaces, And It's Precious

0
0
Remember when Miley Cyrus was Hannah Montana? Yeah, us neither.

On Thursday, a video of Cyrus’ “Hannah Montana” audition tape began making the rounds on social media. In the clip, a 12-year-old, long-locked Cyrus is seen auditioning for a part in the Disney series, reading lines and singing too.

miley-cyrus-hannah-montana


Cyrus, now 22, starred in “Hannah Montana” from 2006 to 2011. Watch the adorable blast from the past above.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

All Hail Michael Fassbender In The First 'Macbeth' Trailer

0
0
Imagine "Game of Thrones" with Michael Fassbender speaking Shakespearean. Then you've got "Macbeth."

The first teaser trailer for Justin Kurzel's "Macbeth" shows Fassbender's titular fighter covered in streaks of dirt and blood on the battlefield. After receiving a prophecy that he will be King, Macbeth slips into the King's tent with a dagger. Between brooding looks of stern conviction from Fassbender, intense battle scenes and Marion Cotillard as Lady MacBeth, Kurzel's adaptation is sure to be an epic awards contender.

The film was also nominated for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, so there's a lot to look forward to. "Macbeth" does not yet have a U.S. release date.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Jimmy Fallon Knocks Jason Statham Out Of His Seat In 'Slapjack'

0
0
Two hits: Jimmy Fallon hitting Jason Statham. Statham hitting the ground. (Oh, and then a bunch of other "hits" because they're playing "Slapjack.")

In the "Tonight Show" version of Blackjack, the loser gets hit across the face with a big fake hand, and on Wednesday, that loser was Statham. After the actor dropped the first hand, Fallon's swing appeared to knock the "Spy" star out of his seat. It was all in fun. Statham was clearly just hamming it up, but Fallon wasn't expecting it, and his reaction alone makes this video worth watching.

"The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" airs weeknights at 11:35 p.m. ET on NBC.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

7 Successful Women Who Destroy The Myth Of The 'Old Maid'

0
0
June 4 is National Old Maids Day. Yes, seriously.

While it seems unlikely that anyone in America actually spends this holiday pitying "old maids" (generally defined as women who are disastrously unmarried while being over the age of -- gasp -- 25), this is a perfect opportunity to celebrate the many women who are smart, successful and all-around awesome... and happen to not have a ring on their finger.

There is unbelievable pressure on women to want marriage and children, and those who don't are considered defective. And even when women do want those things, but haven't found the right partner or don't feel ready, they are constantly asked about it if not outright bullied into hurrying up (See also: Crazy Jewish Mom and Susan Patton.)

This is especially true of celebrity women, who are asked about their love lives at every turn. Here's what seven famous women have to say on the pressure to get married -- after all, being a spinster has never been more fabulous.

1. Diane Keaton


diane keaton golden globes 2014 suit


"I don't think that because I'm not married it's made my life any less," Keaton said in 2001. "That old maid myth is garbage."



2. Oprah


oprah winfrey


"If I wanted to get married, I could've made the time," Oprah told TV host Lorraine Kelly in 2013. "I'm not a traditional woman and I haven't had a traditional life."



3. Condoleezza Rice


condoleezza rice


“You don’t get married in the abstract, you find someone you want to be married to,” Rice told Piers Morgan in 2011.



4. Mindy Kaling


mindy kaling


"I don't need marriage," Kaling told Good Housekeeping in January 2015. "I don't need anyone to take care of all my needs and desires. I can take care of them myself now."



5. Charlize Theron


charlize theron


'The marriage thing is always so strange to me anyway," Theron told Esquire. "I love the possibility of anything, but I’m really enjoying myself and the everyday moment and how that coincides with my son and my life and my friends."



6. Rachel McAdams


rachel mcadams


"I love the sentiment that maybe we should just embrace what happens," she told Collider in 2013. "There’s that whole idea that your mistakes make you stronger and better, and it’s the messiness of life that ultimately leads you to the most interesting things."



7. Sheryl Crow


sheryl crow


"Hey, I would love to get married -– I'm still old-fashioned," Crow told Good Housekeeping. "But I don't think marriage is the be-all-and-end-all."


-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Amy Schumer Takes Her Boyfriend Shopping In 'Say Fine To The Shirt'

0
0
Will he say "fine," or is it back to the rack?

On the latest "Inside Amy Schumer," Amy takes her boyfriend on a reality show to up his clothing game. Justin Long guest stars as Amy's unenthusiastic boyfriend "Briiaaaaaahhh." They've been together for five years, and engaged for four and half.

Wait until you see his magical transformation.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Jason Alexander Reveals Why Susan Was Killed Off On 'Seinfeld'

0
0
Remember Susan Ross? Of course you do: she was George Costanza's fiancée who died from licking envelopes on "Seinfeld."

Since the 1996 Season 7 finale, fans have wondered why Heidi Swedberg's Susan was axed from the sitcom. The rumor was that Jason Alexander didn't like working with her. To set the record straight, Howard Stern asked the actor what the real story was during "The Howard Stern Show" on Wednesday.

"The actress is this wonderful girl. I love her," Alexander assured Stern at first. But the real problem was figuring out "how to play off of her," the actor said. "Her instincts for doing a scene -- where the comedy was, and mine -- were always misfiring."



But Larry David continued to write Susan into the show, calling Alexander to tell him George would be marrying Susan. "We could do the most horrible things to her," Alexander told Stern, "but the audience was still on my side." Finally, though, the rest of the cast learned how difficult it was to play off of Swedberg's character.

After Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Jerry Seinfeld both had scenes with her, they knew it wasn't going to work any longer. "'It's fucking impossible,'" Alexander recalled them saying. "Julia said, 'Don't you wanna just kill her?' And Larry went 'Ka-bang!'" And that is how Susan Ross died from cheap envelope glue.

tv show gifs
Image via Facebook

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.


Jada Pinkett Smith Talks Open Marriage Rumors, Says She's Not Will Smith's 'Watcher'

0
0
For years we've heard rumors that Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith are in an open marriage -- which, hey, whatever works.

But Pinkett Smith stopped by Howard Stern’s SiriusXM show on Wednesday, where she basically said Smith is free to do what he wants, as long as he can look at himself in the mirror afterwards.

"Here's the deal with that, Howard, you've got to trust who you're with. And at the end of the day, I'm not here to be anybody's watcher," the "Gotham" star told Stern. "I'm not his watcher. He's a grown man. Here's what I trust -- I trust that the man that Will is, is the man of integrity. So, he's got all the freedom in the world. As long as Will can look himself in the mirror and be okay, I'm good."

Though Pinkett Smith gave HuffPost Live's Marc Lamont Hill almost the exact same soundbite in April 2013 when asked about the rumors, it does sound pretty reasonable, doesn't it. Trust. Freedom. Integrity. Those are all solid building blocks that would make a lasting relationship, right?

And when Stern asked if Smith is the kind of man who would admit to her if he was attracted to another woman, the actress replied, "Absolutely, you have to in this business, because I’m going to know anyway!”

Back in 2013, there were rumors that Smith was cheating on Pinkett Smith with his "Focus" co-star Margot Robbie,who of course denied the claims. These kinds of stories are part of the territory that come with fame and success, but it can't feel good reading about a spouse's alleged betrayal in the pages of a tabloid.

"Here is what’s real -- I'm not the kind of woman that believes a man is not going to be attracted to other women," she explained. "I'm just not that girl. It's just not realistic. And just because your man is attracted to another woman, does not mean he doesn't love you. That's not what it means. And it doesn't mean he's going to act on it. If your man can't really see another woman's beauty, how the hell is he going to see yours?"

While Pinkett Smith, 43, seems to have a very realistic view on relationships, she also admitted that she thinks the couple, who married at the ages of 25 and 28 in 1997, were "too young" when they tied the knot. "Heck yeah! No, don't do it," she said about telling her kids to wait until they were older to get married. "It did work out, but let me tell you: It worked out in a way that thank God I had a husband who's a gangster partner. Taking that road from 25 to 44."

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Stop What You're Doing Because Betty White Just Joined Instagram

0
0
Betty White has more than 1 million followers on Twitter, and now she's on her way to taking over a different social media platform.

The 93-year-old Hollywood icon posted on Instagram for the first time last night to share her love and appreciation for her "Hot in Cleveland" co-stars. Her sweet message was appropriately timed with the show's series finale.



The caption reads: "For my first Instagram post I wanted to say how much I love these girls dearly. What a great time we had. #HOTFinale #ThanksForTheLaughs"


In less than 24 hours, the beloved actress has racked up more than 4,000 likes on her post. Though she's just getting started on the photo-sharing platform, she already has more than 20,000 followers.

In a tweet announcing her Instagram picture, White asked, "Do you like it?"

Yes, Betty, we do -- just like everything else you do.

H/T New York Daily News



Like Us On Facebook |
Follow Us On Twitter |

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

The Backlash Against Caitlyn Jenner's Award For Courage Is All The Proof You Need That She Deserves It

0
0
Ever since ESPN confirmed this week that it had decided to honor Caitlyn Jenner with the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at the ESPYs on July 15, people have questioned what she has done to deserve it.

In the comments beneath my own story about the award, this sort of sentiment was more than clear. Here are just a few representative samples of what was said:

“Bruce jenner got exactly what he wanted. More publicity than the other women in his family.”


“Good for Bruce but I don't see this as Arthur Ashe awards worthy. Bruce is doing this for him/herself. I don't feel it it for others which was my feeling of an award worthy of being called Arthur Ashe award”


“In 15 years or whatever, and she does amazing things to support the acceptance of transgender issue then maybe.”


“So comparing Caitlyn Jenner, to previous award recipients such as Muhammad Ali, who proved so much more courage really cheapens this award.”


“Bruce is obviously going through some serious mental health issues.. To give him this award is a slap in the face to everyone else that has recieved it. Takes no courage to do what he did especially with the millions he'll be making [sic].”


“Sorry, not deserving of the award.”


The sentiment was not limited to one Internet story either. Petitions have been started asking ESPN to revoke the award, deeming it an “insult” to army veterans. On Twitter, the hashtag #BoycottESPN quickly garnered traction as people angrily declared that Jenner could not be most deserving of the award.

Some of the tweets supported other candidates, like basketball player Lauren Hill, who tragically passed away at 19 earlier this year after a long battle with cancer. Others were much uglier.






















One tweet, by Gerry Callahan, received nearly 10,000 retweets and 7,000 favorites and actually led many people to believe that Iraq war veteran Noah Galloway (pictured in the below photo) did, in fact, come in second in the voting.




Memes were created to display people’s disgust with picking Jenner over Galloway, and the online campaign became prevalent enough that ESPN was forced to clarify in a follow-up statement that there is no such thing as second place in the Arthur Ashe Award, and that ESPN understands there are “many worthy candidates” every year:

The Arthur Ashe Courage Award is meant to honor individuals whose contributions transcend sports through courageous action. Sometimes that courage is demonstrated over the course of a lifetime and sometimes it is demonstrated in a single act that shines a light on an important contemporary issue. At all times, there are many worthy candidates. This year, we are proud to honor Caitlyn Jenner embracing her identity and doing so in a public way to help move forward a constructive dialogue about progress and acceptance.


I could go on rounding up all the things that have been said about Jenner and her Arthur Ashe Courage Award. I could round up additional images and additional sentiments of disgust. But I won’t do that because the point is already clear enough: The backlash against Caitlyn Jenner winning the Arthur Ashe Courage Award is all the proof you need that she deserves it.

People who are transgender -- yes, including Caitlyn -- open themselves up to horrifying levels of hate and discrimination just for the chance to be themselves. The rate of violence against transgender people remains truly staggering in the U.S., as is the lack of understanding within the larger American community about what transgender people go through every day of their lives.

In 2015, the decision to open yourself up to hate for an opportunity to feel comfortable in your own skin is one of the bravest things you can do. If you don’t believe me, take in these words from my colleagues at HuffPost:

The rate of violence against transgender women, especially transgender women of color, is alarming -- according to a 2013 report by the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs, an organization working to reduce violence against LGBTQ people, 72 percent of victims of anti-LGBTQ homicide were transgender women, and 89 percent of victims were people of color. According to the same report, transgender people were also more likely to experience violence at the hands of law enforcement.

Trans people in general experience higher rates of HIV, higher smoking rates and more suicide attempts than the general population, according to a 2011 report by the National Center for Transgender Equality. They also face more discrimination and harassment when seeking health care. One-fifth of people who identify as transgender have reported being homeless at some point in their lives.



Of course, this is not to say other people, specifically Lauren Hill and Noah Galloway, are undeserving of an award for their own bravery. Of course they are. But prejudice in this country against the transgender community is undeniable. The vast majority of us cannot and should not pretend to understand how terrifying it must be to come to terms with the fact that what you see in the mirror does not match what you feel in your heart. And we shouldn't act like we do either.

On its website, ESPN.com defines winners of the Arthur Ashe Award as those “possessing strength in the face of adversity, courage in the face of peril and the willingness to stand up for their beliefs no matter what the cost.” Anyone who has looked around the Internet this week (or in the tabloids in the months before Caitlyn decided to announce her transition) has seen in plain view just how much ugliness still exists on the other side for anyone, including Caitlyn, who decides to make the leap. Are there transgender people in the U.S. going through more hardship than Caitlyn? Almost certainly, but it’s also possible someone will see Caitlyn take the stage on July 15 and think, “Maybe, one day, I’ll decide to tell the world who I am too.” That's worth something, isn't it?

To come out as transgender in America, even in 2015, is an act of bravery worthy of an award. If you’re going to get mad about something, get mad that we can’t give it to every human who, like Caitlyn, took the risk to be his or her self.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Why 'Fun Home' Speaks to Me As a Gay Dad

0
0
On Sunday evening, my daughter, Jennifer Grey, and I will have the pleasure of introducing a live musical performance from Best Musical nominee Fun Home at the 2015 Tony Awards. Stepping onto the stage of Radio City Music Hall for an internationally broadcast television event is always exciting, and I imagine Sunday will be especially so for Jen and myself, as it's the first time we'll have the chance to do this sort of thing together as father and daughter.

Based on Alison Bechdel's remarkable graphic memoir of the same name, Fun Home is about Alison struggling to make sense of her father's homosexuality -- which he kept hidden from his family -- while coming to terms with her own.

Fun Home, in the first place, is a groundbreaking theatrical work. Full of life, it represents the first time a musical with a lesbian protagonist has been presented on a Broadway stage. It deconstructs -- and then reconstructs -- the musical form in revealing Alison's life story, bit-by-bit, from her point-of-view at three distinct times of her life. It's strikingly personal, but also surprisingly universal. (Who among us hasn't had the experience of examining our own lives in relationship to our moms and dads?)

Fun Home's story, as universal as it is, strikes a uniquely personal chord for me, as a dad who is also a gay man. Just a few months ago, I spoke publicly for the first time about that. And like Alison's father, I grew up in a time when being openly gay was totally unacceptable and truly dangerous. Both of us got married and raised children. But unlike the father in the play, I made a decision, after the end of my 24-year marriage, to reveal my true self to my friends and family, finding only love and acceptance. And, eventually, I was inspired to speak publicly and live a life without secrets. Today, I am living to see the world, and its attitudes, miraculously changing every day.

Alison's father made different choices than I did, and his family relationships suffered in ways mine never did. As a result, the kind of love, joy and peace that fills my life, sadly always eluded his. Without giving away the plot, I'll simply say that the shame of his secrets consumed him.

Though not separated by all that many years, Alison comes of age in a very different time than her dad did. She comes out to her family while still in college (a college that, by the way, has its own gay student union). She finds her calling as a cartoonist, and makes a name for herself by exploring gay themes. She lives openly and thrives -- her personal triumphs spurred on, in part, by very subject matter that caused her father's demise.

All great art is about unleashing a truth. Fun Home speaks directly to the power of unleashing one's own truth. Win, lose or draw at Sunday's Tony Awards, Fun Home is so much more than simply a landmark American musical; it is living tribute to the unstoppable force of human progress. It represents a clear generational shift, a before-and-after portrait of a moment when secrecy and shame turned to truth and pride.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Bindi Irwin Looks Grown Up And Gorgeous In New Instagram

0
0
Bindi Irwin is all grown up! But it's not just her adult appearance that she was showing off with her recent Instagram photo – the caption proves she's maturing into a beautiful woman on the inside too.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Elizabeth Hurley Shares Throwback Photo From The Vegas Stripper Pole

0
0
Did Elizabeth Hurley spend her youth working as a stripper, as an Instagram photo she posted this week might suggest?

Uh, no. It doesn't look like it. For anyone thinking that "The Royals" star spent her pre-fame days working the pole in Vegas, pay close attention to how she captioned the snap: "Misspent youth? @ellenvonunwerth #vegas #bestmemories."

The 49-year-old tagged iconic photographer Ellen von Unwerth, which means this is a photo from a professional photo shoot (just to make it clear for anyone who couldn't already tell) unearthed from Hurly's younger days, rather than evidence of a side gig she took on while trying to make it as an actress.

Misspent youth? @ellenvonunwerth #vegas #bestmemories

A photo posted by Elizabeth Hurley (@elizabethhurley1) on


-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

David Beckham Calls FIFA Dealings 'Despicable, Unacceptable And Awful'

0
0
"Despicable, unacceptable and awful."

Yep, David Beckham just about covered it in his assessment of the FIFA corruption scandal, the BBC reported.

After Sepp Blatter announced Tuesday he would step down as FIFA president in the wake of bribery, racketeering and fraud charges against several officials, England's former captain spoke his mind Wednesday. In a statement posted by several outlets, Beckham declared it was time for change:

"Some of the things that we now know happened were despicable, unacceptable and awful for the game we love so much. Whilst it has not been good to read some of the headlines surrounding our sport recently, I hope at last we are now moving in the right direction. Football is not owned by a few individuals at the top, it belongs to the millions of people around the world who love this sport. It is time for FIFA to change and we should all welcome it."


Beckham once helped spearhead England's bid to host the 2018 World Cup that eventually went to Russia. The soccer great previously said he had a "sick feeling" because he felt misled by FIFA executive committee members who had supposedly pledged their support to England's effort.

Among several matters moving forward, Swiss prosecutors and the FBI are looking into the bidding process for both 2018 and 2022, the latter awarded to Qatar.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.


The Time to Save Our NYC Parks Is Now

0
0
What makes a park a park?

Ordinarily, that might be a question for a New York dinner party. Today, it is an urgent legal question before the New York Court of Appeals. For our state's highest court will either save our city parks, by reaffirming a time-honored civic principle, or they will throw it out, and so allow the city to seize countless open spaces long enjoyed as public parks, and hand them over to private developers, without approval from the state Legislature.

Such is the looming consequence of New York University's plan to bulk up its Greenwich Village presence with four huge towers -- roughly 2 million square feet of commercial real estate -- crammed onto the two residential blocks just south of Washington Square.

Though the plan is overwhelmingly opposed by NYU's faculty and neighbors, the city, under Mayor Bloomberg, finally blessed it, handing the university four strips of public parkland for its private use, ostensibly for academic purposes.

The plan's opponents sued the city, since, under an age-old legal code called the Public Trust Doctrine, parkland may not be "alienated" -- meaning, turned into something else -- without explicit approval by the state legislature, approval NYU had not obtained. The university and the city skirted that requirement by claiming that those parks are not in fact parks, since they were never formally "mapped" as such (i.e., not transferred officially to the Parks Department).

According to that view, those strips are streets -- even though they have been used as parks for years, and labeled, funded and maintained as parks by the Parks Department.

Thus NYU's backers used a bureaucratic technicality to get around a democratic doctrine that has helped to green our cities for two centuries, a subset of the Public Trust Doctrine called "implied dedication." According to the state, parkland may be "expressly" dedicated, "through an official act" by city government; or it may be impliedly dedicated, by the public's use of it as parkland over time.

Think of that abandoned local lot that's turned into a community garden thanks to the neighborhood's hard work over many years.

2015-06-05-1433468338-8001270-park.jpg


The parks at issue -- "mapped" or not -- are parks. And the city had implicitly agreed, as the plaintiff groups proved, noting dedication ceremonies, press releases, onsite park signs and information on the Parks Department website. (In its brochure for faculty housing residents, NYU itself refers to two of the disputed strips as public playgrounds, linking to the Parks Department website.)

Judge Donna Mills, of Manhattan Supreme Court, agreed last January, ruling that three of the disputed parcels (Mercer Playground, LaGuardia Park and LaGuardia Community Gardens) were made public parks "by implication."

NYU and the city (under Mayor de Blasio) appealed. On Oct. 14, the Appellate Division, First Department, overturned the decision. Those parcels are not parks, the judges ruled, because there was no "unequivocal" expression, or "official act" by the city to dedicate them. The court dismissed the many other actions by the city indicating that intention and downplayed the public's consequent long use of those three strips as parks.

Put another way, the court essentially threw out the doctrine of implied dedication. And so, the plaintiff groups immediately filed a motion with the state's highest court, the Court of Appeals, urging them to take the case, because the First Department's ruling has disastrous implications for us all.

The court heard oral arguments this week.

As a Villager, I'm naturally concerned that any of our local parks, playgrounds or public gardens could be wiped out to make way for more construction, since this area already has less open public space than just about any other part of New York City. Overall, our city is park-starved. For every thousand people living in Manhattan, there's only 4.3 acres of parkland -- a ratio that is way below the "big city" median of 11 acres per 1,000 people.

But my concerns transcend this neighborhood and its long clash with NYU. Here, there and everywhere are countless public spaces that have not been "mapped" as parks (some of Central Park itself was long unmapped). If the appellate court's ruling stands, city officials will be able to turn over parcels long and continuously used by the public as parks for other uses without obtaining approval from the state Legislature.

It isn't just our parks that are at risk, but also the Public Trust Doctrine -- the concept that the government holds title to some lands, and waters, in trust for the people. Dating back to the Roman Empire, the concept, in this country, has expanded to protect our ecosystems, energy generation and historical sites, as well as open spaces.

Under this crucial doctrine, We the People have the right to sue the government for shirking such responsibilities. We have seen that doctrine used successfully to save waterways in Hawaii, to force Texas to implement federal greenhouse gas emissions rules and to keep beaches publicly accessible in Maine. The doctrine is essential to the fight against the slow destruction of our public commons.

I am hopeful that the Court of Appeals will understand those stakes, and save not just our Village parks, but the key doctrine that created them, and so much else that makes this city -- all our cities -- livable.

This post originally appeared on the New York Daily News.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

On This Week's Best Dressed List, A Stylish Couple Hits It Out Of The Park

0
0
diane
Photo credit: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Veuve Clicquot




Over the past couple of days, we've seen so many amazing outfits, we don't quite know what to do with ourselves.

Joshua Jackson and Diane Kruger looked like the fashion darlings they are at the Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic, Kate Hudson flaunted her figure in a low-cut gown at the Glamour Women Of The Year Awards, and Kerry Washington proved that sometimes a dress isn't the best option on the red carpet.

Check out the best-dressed stars of the week and let us know if you agree with our picks.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

'Fifty Shades Of Black' Will Star Marlon Wayans, Probably Won't Be Much Worse Than 'Fifty Shades Of Grey'

0
0

NEW YORK (AP) — What do you get when you take one of the year's biggest box office hits — "Fifty Shades of Grey" — and turn it over to funny man Marlon Wayans?


Christian Grey is turning into Christian Black in Wayans' spoof "Fifty Shades of Black," which has been picked up by Open Road Films for release next January.


Wayans, known for writing and starring in cinematic sendups like "White Chicks" and his "Scary Movie" films, says he thought it would be funny to do a comedic take on the erotic film, which is based on the novel of the same name.


"What if Christian Grey was black and he was rich but you kind of know how he got his money, it's kind of shady and he's a really bad lover? I mean it's kind of similar to the movie," Wayans said with a laugh. "They had all these scenes and I was like, a funny version of this and a funny version of that and before you knew it we had a really funny script."


He was interviewed Thursday while promoting the summer competition TV series he's hosting, "I Can Do That," which airs Tuesdays on NBC.


Wayans will star and co-write the "Fifty Shades" spoof with longtime collaborator Rick Alvarez. The film will be directed by Michael Tiddes, who helmed both of Wayans' "Haunted House" movies. He is still working on his female lead but says "Fifty Shades of Black" will likely feature faces that fans have seen in his other films, such as Affion Crockett and Cedrick the Entertainer.


But don't expect any "red room of pain" in the Wayans spoof. He says in his film, the "playroom" will probably be something like "chartreuse or turquoise or some ugly random color."


___


Online: http://openroadfilms.com/


__


Follow Lauri Neff on Twitter at www.twitter.com/lneffist

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

'Spy' Is Wonderful, But Melissa McCarthy Still Deserves More

0
0
Early in "Spy," we see Melissa McCarthy's character, Susan Cooper, feeding instructions to Bradley Fine (Jude Law), a CIA agent who wears a tiny earpiece during missions. She tracks Fine's movements on a computer screen and instructs him to turn around or fire or dart to the right. In between perilous commands, he drops in pleasantries that could be vaguely interpreted as compliments, and Susan latches on to each one, swooning to herself and briefly losing track of the task at hand. This amusing repartee shows these two have attained a certain comfort level, but, moreover, it invokes an undercurrent of pity, forcing the audience to register that this hunky, physically deft fella is clearly not in Susan's league.

There could be any number of reasons why Fine doesn't lust after Susan, but "Spy" makes it seem like he wouldn't even entertain the thought. Case in point: While dining together at a restaurant that is more sophisticated than Susan's typical fare, Fine presents a black jewelry box that appears to contain a pricey pendant. Hoping for a diamond-encrusted something or other, Susan opens it to find a cheap cupcake necklace. “It’s so you," he tells her. Pity ensues like a siren, informing the audience that this movie traffics in fat jokes. Most are implicit, but none are undetectable.

Overall, "Spy" -- McCarthy's third collaboration with Paul Feig, following "Bridesmaids" and "The Heat" -- is actually quite good. It celebrates female friendship, parodies the genre cleverly and boasts hilarious work from McCarthy, Rose Byrne, Miranda Hart, Jason Statham, Allison Janney and others. Feig's keen eye for directing physical comedy shines. The crux is charming, too: Susan, an often-unnoticed but well-trained CIA desk analyst, volunteers to go undercover because she's one of the few on hand who wouldn't be suspected of looking like a spy. The problem is that each time a character indirectly points out Susan's weight, the audience feels a tinge of sadness for its protagonist. Even though Susan is great at her job, many people treat her appearance as the most notable thing about her.

At this point in McCarthy's career, that seems regressive, in part because it accentuates how much of her previous work drew from the same wellspring of humor. Those unfamiliar with the lovable Sookie St. James on "Gilmore Girls" met McCarthy via her Oscar-nominated turn as Megan in "Bridesmaids." It's one of the decade's funniest performances, and it works because the character upends every fatuous expectation placed on women's bodies. Megan talks the raunchy talk with aplomb, making no bones about her desire to "climb that like a tree." The physical comedy follows suit, and we laugh because the script never asks us to feel sorry for Megan. But some of what was fascinating about McCarthy in "Bridesmaids" has been whittled away in "Spy" and certain other star vehicles that don't do enough to subvert the powerlessness of characters whose weight becomes a punch line.

bridesmaids melissa mccarthy

In 2013's abhorrent "Identity Thief," McCarthy's character is subjected to an embarrassing, clown-like makeover. Later that same year, "The Heat" seemed to give McCarthy's foulmouthed detective control of her body by combining skillfulness with unkempt hair and unglamorous attire, but the movie's vulgar-tomboy shtick ran thin. And in 2014's "Tammy," McCarthy plays an all-out dunce, a trope that often comes at the expense of her weight. The movie's first teaser, for example, featured only one scene, in which McCarthy's title character attempts to rob a fast-food joint but cannot thrust her body over the counter to get to the registers.

In proving, unsurprisingly, to be an adept "Saturday Night Live" host, McCarthy's riotous line delivery makes it easy to ignore the demoralizing weight gags that underscore certain characters. In one of her best sketches, she portrays Barb Kelner, a clueless aspiring entrepreneur who pitches a business where she is paid to eat people's leftover pizza. In another, McCarthy plays a Vaudeville vixen who invites a trio of men upstairs to her bedroom, then trips and face-plants repeatedly while going up. It's amusing, sure, but the gag is an unfortunate reminder that overweight stars usually are barred from playing sexualized characters -- just like in the opening of "Spy."

The list of sad cracks about Susan's weight in "Spy" goes on. Every alias handed to her throughout the mission is some sort of lonely, cat-obsessed single woman, replete with crappy Photoshopped images that make her look increasingly desperate. Susan starts to protest, but her meek proclivities take over. There's a self-awareness to these jokes, but again, must we treat this as another stop along the way to the plot's realization? The movie is built on an underdog premise, which provides an inherent air of sympathy. Sticking a positive, feminist message on the end barely distracts from two hours of disparagement about Susan's physique.

spy allison janney

The troubling thread here is not that such humor requires McCarthy to accentuate her weight. It's fantastic to see a woman -- or anyone -- own her body that way. The problem with "Spy" and McCarthy's related roles comes in the slight pity they induce. Compare Susan Cooper to Roseanne Conner, for example. Roseanne Barr's title character was the victim of constant jabs about her size, but never once was the audience asked to feel bad for her. In fact, the opposite occurred: "Roseanne" refused to let us think of Roseanne and Dan Conner as anything but strong-willed champions. The same goes for Rebel Wilson's work in "Pitch Perfect," where her character is named Fat Amy so she can strip "twig bitches" of their skinny upper hand. There's a power in Amy's boundless confidence and in the physical humor that reinforces her stamina. Susan Cooper, like Tammy and the aforementioned "SNL" characters, misses that boat, no matter how fun and smart "Spy" otherwise is.

No one doubts McCarthy's prowess or her ability to portray her body any way she desires. But now that "Spy" is opening, it seems like time for McCarthy to graduate from roles that make weight-oriented humor pitiable. She's too remarkable for that.

"Spy" opens nationwide on June 5. You should go see it, despite what this essay says.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

The Creator Of 'Transparent' Is Helping To Change The World Behind The Scenes, Too

0
0
Amazon's original series "Transparent" follows a family's journey as their patriarch, played by Jeffrey Tambor, transitions to become her authentic self, Maura Pfefferman. Her three adult children experience the journey differently and grapple with their own issues of sexuality, identity and boundaries. Note: the show is a comedy.

“Transparent” has won numerous awards, including Golden Globes for Best Television Series - Musical or Comedy and Best Actor for Tambor, and begins shooting its second season shortly. The show is one of the first to tackle trans issues in a mainstream way, but creator Jill Soloway is concerned with what is going on behind the scenes, too.

“We are looking for opportunities for more trans people to have positions in all areas of the industry -- as writers, actors, directors and producers -- telling their own stories. That’s the future of trans representation,” Soloway said on a panel at the Directors Guild of America Monday evening in Los Angeles.

The event, which was a "For Your Consideration" Emmys push, featured two episodes of the show followed by an hour-long panel with the cast. It took place on the same day that Caitlyn Jenner debuted on the cover of Vanity Fair magazine. The very next night, Soloway told reporters that she would love for Jenner to be on the show.

transparent
Pete Hammond, Jill Soloway, Jeffrey Tambor, Gaby Hoffmann, Jay Duplass, Amy Landecker, Melora Hardin and Bradley Whitford at the Emmy FYC event on June 1, 2015.

Soloway is the child of a trans parent and says she wishes there were more trans people in entertainment. She is doing her part. “We take the transgender community so seriously,” she said. “We have a ‘trans-affirmative’ action program that we are going to do more officially [in] Season 2 -- trying to make sure there’s at least one trans person working in every department. We had gender-neutral bathrooms on set. It’s a great way to live the future.”

An audience member Monday asked how to best deal with people who speak unintelligently about trans issues -- either because of a lack of open mindedness or because of a lack of education.

“I think being openhearted, helping people get things right and reminding people how great the ‘they’ pronoun is -- and how nice it is to refer to somebody as ‘they’ even if you know their gender,” Soloway said. “It’s just a great way to start de-gendering language. It’s new for a lot of people. There’s so much to learn. We’re all learning. The world is learning every day.”

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Viewing all 15269 articles
Browse latest View live




Latest Images