WebProNews

Tag: Controversy

  • Seth Rogen On Justin Bieber: “F*ck this kid.”

    Seth Rogen On Justin Bieber: “F*ck this kid.”

    Adding one more to the large army of “haters”, Justin Bieber is fitting a narrative that has exponentially lead to a permanent label to his character: douchebag.

    Yesterday on the Howard Stern Show, Seth Rogen expressed his sentiment of dislike for the (now) bad boy mop bucket tinkling, house egging, strip club attending ‘musician’:

    “He’s a good example of someone you meet, who you think you’re going to hate, and then you get to hate him as much as you thought,”

    “You meet him, and he lives up to every one of your expectations of how you hope he will be.”

    Rogen said his thoughts became solidified after appearing on a German talk show with Bieber. While there, Justin sent one of his lackeys to Rogen’s dressing room in hopes to meet the Pineapple Express star.

    All jokes aside, Justin Bieber is a piece of shit.

    — Seth Rogen (@Sethrogen) January 23, 2014

    “And it was weird, I was like, ‘Sure, I’ll meet him.’ So I went outside to meet him and he was acting like I asked to meet him. It was very nonchalant, ‘Yo man. Wassup,’ and I was like, ‘What the fuck, I don’t give a fuck about, I don’t want to meet you. Don’t act all nonplussed to meet me. I didn’t want to meet you. I was totally cool not meeting you… But I was like, fine, I wouldn’t have said anything, I was like, ‘He’s a bit of a motherfucker. Whatever. He’s young, the kid’s a dick.’

    And then I met him like two years later maybe, I saw him again at an MTV awards show and he literally had a snake wrapped around his fucking wrist that he was wearing as an accouterment and I was like, ‘What the fuck,’ and I talked to him for like five minutes and I was like, ‘Fuck this kid.’ He was trying to be funny with like, ‘Hey this snake.’”

    Rogen stars in the new film Neighbors with Zac Efron, who he says is way cooler than Justin Bieber.

     

    Images via Twitter, www.neighbors-movie.com

  • Beyonce Instagram Controversy: Pretty Hurts?

    The beauty standards are always shifting to be impossible to meet. Anything to get desperate and insecure women to shell out the cash to fail to meet them.

    If it isn’t boobs too small or thighs too big, it’s some other physical beauty demand crushing the souls of millions of women and girls.

    As Beyonce herself once sang, “Perfection is a disease of a nation.”

    Now some fans are afraid that the R&B/Pop diva is herself infected by that very disease.

    The singer is embroiled in a new controversy over Instagram photos that were uploaded to her account.

    The new photos featured Beyonce playing golf. One photo in particular is viewed as especially suspicious to observers. In the image, you can see that Beyonce has a relatively huge thigh gap.

    The “thigh gap” is all the rage among ultra-body conscious youngsters today. It’s not unusual to see girls uploading images to Istagram or Tumblr that “celebrate” the fact that their thighs don’t touch.

    Some women and teens have even taken to faking the gap with image editing.

    Whoever it is that runs Beyonce’s Istagram account and posts photos is accused of having done this for a few reasons:

    1.) The abnomal bump on the right thigh. Photoshoppers know that if you don’t take special care when using the Smudge tool, what you’ll get is lumps and bumps.

    2,) Right hip blends into background TOO well. Some look at the green line that is visible along the outside of Beyonce’s right hip in the picture and see it as proof of Photoshop. The hip is seen as too smooth, almost as if it were carefully shaped.

    3.) Where’s the green’s edge? This could be a matter of lighting, but some fans and onlookers note that the edge of the green is not too visible where her thigh gap is.

    It’s very possible that there was no editing and that this is just a bizarre coincidence. If the image really was edited in such a way, it’s rather unfortunate.

    Beyonce isn’t who she is because of a thigh gap; she will still be seen as beautiful regardless of whether or not she has one.

    Women have enough social pressure hurled at them without seeing women they admire being treated in such a way.

    This should fuel conversation about the “thigh gap” and why it’s such an unhealthy obsession for a generation of young women. If it gets women to open up about and acknowledge chasing ridiculous beauty standards, perhaps it can be said some good came of the controversy.

    Image via YouTube

  • LinkedIn Angers Businesses With Feature Removal

    LinkedIn Angers Businesses With Feature Removal

    As recently reported, LinkedIn is killing the Products & Services tab on Company pages. It turns out that some businesses aren’t a fan of this move.

    Do you use the Products & Services tab? Do you find it to be a necessary feature of the LinkedIn experience or are the alternatives better? Share your thoughts in the comments.

    Back in November LinkedIn launched its new Showcase Pages, which enable companies to show off specific brands and products. Users can follow these pages just as they can other pages on LinkedIn. So, if you have multiple products, you can set up these pages for each one, and users can follow the products they’re most interested in. If you have multiple brands, they can follow the brands they like. Obviously they can still follow your Company Page as well.

    For example, Microsoft has a Showcase Page for Microsoft Office. Users may not be interested in everything that the corporation is up to, but they use Office all the time, so they want to follow that. You get the idea.

    LinkedIn apparently wants companies to use these pages more, so it’s ditching the Products & Services tab. The tab will be gone on April 14th. Until then, you can edit your content from the tab as you like. You won’t be able to add anything new.

    “We’re constantly evaluating how features are being used and exploring new ways to enhance the content experience on LinkedIn,” the company says. “We do this to ensure that we’re creating a platform where companies can deliver timely, engaging content to our members. Sometimes, this means we need to remove a feature to focus on areas of the product that most benefit both companies and our members.”

    Showcase Pages are one alternative LinkedIn recommends. Another is to simply use Company Status Updates (or both).

    The updates show up on your Company Page as well as in your followers’ feeds (on every device). You can even use them to show videos that play directly in the feed, and/or direct users to customized landing pages.

    “The real-time nature of updates makes them perfect for sharing news about your offerings, so your content feels relevant and timely,” LinkedIn says.

    LinkedIn also says that Showcase Pages make it easy to build dedicated communities on LinkedIn, and start conversations about products and brands. Showcase Page updates work just like Company Updates, so they have the same visibility benefits. They also appear in search results and on your Company Page.

    Believe it or not, not everyone is happy with LinkedIn’s decision to shut down the Products & Services tab. Many have taken to its help forum to complain. John Bernardi is particularly angered by the move, and started a lot of discussion about it there. He wrote (via MarketingLand):

    LinkedIn does it again. They’ve made an arbitrary decision to remove content previously entered by its subscribers. On April 14 all the hard work done by subscribers who created product and services pages will be sent to the trash bin by LinkedIn. I have a number of clients who paid to have their products and services pages created for them. LinkedIn has decided that their investment means nothing.

    This decision is even more obtuse than the one made by LinkedIn to remove the section where people saved and shared the books they had read.

    I will never trust LinkedIn with a mission critical application for my business. They make too many arbitrary decisions that are non customer centric.

    One user calls the move “insane”. Another says LinkedIn is afraid of lawsuits like those Yelp has been involved in, and doesn’t “have the spine for it”.

    Crystal Thies writes:

    I am extremely upset with this. Managing a Showcase Page for every product or service is unrealistic. There are no options for recommendations currently in the Showcase Pages, so will that change?

    The target market views that LinkedIn created for the products and services tab was brilliant and there is nothing else like it out there. Anytime I fully explained the capabilities of the tab, I landed a company hiring me to build out their Company Page and target that page to their verticals. There is nothing else like in in social media.

    However, LinkedIn has done a very poor job of informing people of the true magic behind the Company Page so no one knows to do anything with it. This was also the main way to tie your company page to your website with the Recommendations plugin.

    If they continue to remove it, it will be an enormous loss to small business owners across LinkedIn and will lower LinkedIn to Facebook level. It will be all about blasting your message out to people and that’s not what LinkedIn is really about. You need those recommendations and validation to build credibility for your company, your products and services. Would you remove Recommendations from the Profile? That’s essentially what you’re doing to the businesses.

    To the point about “blasting your message out to people” not being what LinkedIn’s about, the company did recently announce that it is opening up its publishing platform to everyone, so that kind of is what LinkedIn is all about now. Or at least partially about.

    There are eleven pages on that one thread in LinkedIn’s forum, and it’s pretty much just angry comment after angry comment. Will LinkedIn listen?

    Do you think LinkedIn should keep the Products & Services tab? Is this all just overreaction or legitimate concern? Share your thoughts in the comments.

  • Mozilla CEO Brendan Eich Steps Down Amid Controversy

    Brendan Eich has stepped down as Mozilla’s CEO following controversy about his support of California anti-gay marriage law Proposition 8 in 2008, which recently came to light.

    Executive Chairwoman Mitchell Baker announced the news on the Mozilla blog after a number of interviews Eich gave indicating that he would not be going anywhere.

    “He’s made this decision for Mozilla and our community,” she writes. “Mozilla believes both in equality and freedom of speech. Equality is necessary for meaningful speech. And you need free speech to fight for equality. Figuring out how to stand for both at the same time can be hard. Our organizational culture reflects diversity and inclusiveness. We welcome contributions from everyone regardless of age, culture, ethnicity, gender, gender-identity, language, race, sexual orientation, geographical location and religious views. Mozilla supports equality for all.”

    She continues, “We have employees with a wide diversity of views. Our culture of openness extends to encouraging staff and community to share their beliefs and opinions in public. This is meant to distinguish Mozilla from most organizations and hold us to a higher standard. But this time we failed to listen, to engage, and to be guided by our community. While painful, the events of the last week show exactly why we need the web. So all of us can engage freely in the tough conversations we need to make the world better. We need to put our focus back on protecting that Web. And doing so in a way that will make you proud to support Mozilla.”

    They’re still figuring out what the next move is as far as leadership at Mozilla. Baker says they’ll have more info next week.

    “We will emerge from this with a renewed understanding and humility — our large, global, and diverse community is what makes Mozilla special, and what will help us fulfill our mission. We are stronger with you involved,” she concludes.

    Comments on the blog post are closed.

    According to Re/code, Eich, who also co-founded Mozilla (in addition to creating JavaScript) will also be resigning from the board of the Mozilla foundation (the nonprofit behind the for-profit Mozilla Corporation). Also, according to that report, Baker said Eich had not been forced to resign by her or others on the board.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • ‘Cancel Colbert’ Is Your Daily Dose of Dumb Twitter Outrage

    In people clearly not understanding the basic idea of satire nor differentiating between network and personal Twitter accounts news, Twitter’s all fired up over a joke made by Comedy Central’s Colbert Report Twitter account.

    And by “joke,” we mean a reference to a previously aired bit.

    The tweet has since been deleted, but here’s a screenshot (with some added commentary):

    “I am willing to show #Asian community I care by introducing the Ching-Chong Ding-Dong Foundation for Sensitivity to Orientals or Whatever,” read the tweet.

    The hashtag #CancelColbert has been trending all day, with some tweets expressing anger over the “offensive” joke tweet, and others expressing the sheer lunacy of the former.

    The outrage seems to have stemmed from (or at least has been centered on) Twitter user Suey Park. Taking a trip through her recent Twitter activity not only shows her disdain for the Colbert tweet, but also highlights the incredibly rude and racist vitriol being spit in her direction.

    Before we get into any discussion on the merits or lack thereof over outrage at the tweet, it’s important to distinguish between the Colbert Report Twitter account and Stephen Colbert’s personal Twitter account. The former made the tweet, not the latter–a point which both Stephen Colbert and the Colbert Report accounts were quick to point out:

    Also, the tweet in question is actually just a rehash of a bit Colbert did earlier in the week. Check out the full segment below:

    Ok guys, the point here really isn’t whether or not you thought to “joke” was funny, offensive, or whatever. The point is not even that it wasn’t Colbert making the tweet. The point is that this sort of comedy–ratcheting up ridiculous discourse to the nth degree, thus rendering it completely innocuous–is what Stephen Colbert has been doing for years. Though some might argue that it’s not innocuous, you have to remember than Colbert plays a character on his show–a xenophobic, pompous caricature of the ugly American.

    Nobody watching the clip from where the tweet comes could honestly say that they feel Stephen Colbert (the actual person) or Comedy Central actually supports this. The tweet was taken out of context, and if anything was just a dumb move that Comedy Central should have seen coming.

    Oh, there’s also the fact that it’s comedy. As Louis C.K. said when defending Tracy Morgan against backlash for a so-called offensive joke, “He was on a comedy stage, not at a pulpit.”

    If this tweet and The Colbert Report segment from which it’s derived is terribly offensive to you, I really hope you don’t go back and watch old episodes of The Colbert Report. You’re not going to like what you find.

    And on a final note, people need to stop spewing bullshit at people on Twitter for expressing their views. This is why we can’t have nice things, people.

    You’re not a comedian, and that’s not satire. You’re just an asshole.

    Image via The Colbert Report, Video Screenshot

  • Allah Pendant Scrubbed from Katy Perry’s Dark Horse Video

    Earlier this week, we told you that the new Katy Perry video had really infuriated some in the Muslim community. So much so, that an online petition on change.org to force YouTube to remove the video garnered over 60,000 signatures.

    Why, you ask? Well, it’s pretty simple. In the video, Katy Perry reduces a man wearing an Allah pendant to a pile of red dust.

    From the petition:

    At 01:15 into the video Dark Horse; a man is shown being burned, whilst wearing a pendant (also burned) forming the word ‘Allah’, which is the arabic word for God.

    Such goes to show, that blasphemy is clearly conveyed in the video, since Katy Perry (who appears to be representing an opposition of God) engulfs the believer and the word God in flames.

    Fair enough. Well, the video is still up (and approaching 40 million views)–so why are the originators of the petition rejoicing?

    Well, the Allah symbol is gone. It’s been scrubbed out. Here’s the before:

    (image)

    And here’s what the same frame looks like today:

    (image)

    I guess that’s good enough for the U.K.’s Shazad Iqbal, the petition’s sponsor.

    “Guys I’m thrilled to let you all know the name of Allah has been removed from the ‘Dark Horse’ video we couldn’t have done it without everyone’s support so I thank each and every one of you deeply, our voices have been heard! God bless you all ???? ???? ????,” he says.

    In other YouTube/Muslims news, an appeals court recently issued an order instructing Google to remove Innocence of Muslims, the controversial film that incensed muslims throughout the world last year. Google is fighting the order.

    Images via Change.org, YouTube

  • Rick Ross Explains His Trayvon Martin Lyrics on ‘Mastermind’

    Rappers rarely go through their entire careers without creating some controversy with their lyrics. Some do it more than others.

    Last year, Florida born rapper Rick Ross collaborated with rapper Rocko on a song called “U.O.E.N.O.” The lyrics on the song reads, “Put Molly all in her champagne/She ain’t even know it/I took her home and I enjoyed that/She ain’t even know it.” After the song, Ross lost an endorsement deal with Reebook, and dealt with backlash for those claiming his lyrics glorify date rape. Now Ross has made another rapping blunder.

    His sixth album, Mastermind, began streaming on iTunes on Tuesday night. In a track called “Black & White,” he mentions Trayvon Martin. He raps, “Too close to a ni–a as a mother–king bomb/ Trayvon Martin, I’m never missing my target/ Bitch ni–as hating, tell me it’s what I’m parking.”

    Ross spoke exclusively to Vibe to clarify his lyrics. He told them that “it’s so important that today, on the two-year anniversary of the death of Trayvon Martin, we never forget that tragedy. I’m never going to let the world forget that name. In my song ‘Black and White’ off Mastermind I say, ‘Trayvon Martin, I’m never missing my target’. There I’m reminding people that if you’re a black person or a person of any color for that matter in this country, you have to be accurate, whatever moves you make, stay accurate. Even when you’re walking down the street, playing music from your car, you have to stay on point.”

    He went on to say that “black men are being killed and their killers [are] beating the trial. It hasn’t been this much violence against black men since the ’60s. I am Trayvon Martin, we’re all Trayvon Martin. He was from South Florida. That could have been me or one of my homies. So, stay alert and never miss your target. Whatever that target may be. Getting out the hood, providing from your family. Stay sharp. Stay alive. Trayvon, Rest in Peace.”

    Mastermind officially hit stores on March 4.

    Image via Rick Ross, Twitter

  • Katy Perry Offends Muslim Community With New Video

    It’s hard for Katy Perry to stay out of the news these days.

    Whether it’s because of her relationship to singer John Mayer or whether it has to do with one of her chart-topping singles, it seems people can’t get enough of the 29-year-old pop star.

    However, this time she’s in the news for her video Dark Horse, where she portrays an Egyptian queen who uses lightning to burn away a guy who seems to pine for her. Ultimately, he’s turned into sand after Perry gives him a glance, which has upset some people in the Muslim community.

    And what’s so controversial about a man being turned into sand? That man was wearing a religious pendant that means “Allah” in Arabic, and once he and the pendant were singed, a lot of folks were instantly offended.

    Soon after, a petition was created for YouTube to remove the video, and currently almost 40,000 people have signed it. Here’s what the petition says:

    The video is considered as highly controversial to its viewers as a result of its portrayals of blasphemy. At 01:15 into the video Dark Horse; a man is shown being burned, whilst wearing a pendant (also burned) forming the word ‘Allah,” which is the arabic word for God.”

    Such goes to show, that blasphemy is clearly conveyed in the video, since Katy Perry (who appears to be representing an opposition of God) engulfs the believer and the word God in flames.”

    “This is the reason for lodging the petition so that people from different walks of life, different religions and from different parts of the world, agree that the video promotes blasphemy, using the name of God in an irrelevant and distasteful manner would be considered inappropriate by any religion.

    So far, there has been no comment from Perry or any of her reps and it’ll be interesting to see if she decides to tweak the video or not. Stay tuned folks.

    Image via YouTube

  • School Sorry About Black History Month Lunch Menu

    Fried chicken, watermelon, and cornbread – what’s not to love for the lunch menu of Black History Month at an all-girls Catholic school?

    Well, when you’re Principal Nancy Libby of Carondelet High School for Girls in Concord, California, you’ll wind up having to hold an assembly to discuss the incident as a means of appeasing upset students and parents. Buttered up apology letters from Principal Libby were sent to the students’ homes that read:

    “I’d like to apologize for the announcement and any hurt this caused students, parents or community members. Please know that at no time at Carondelet do we wish to perpetuate racial stereotypes.”


    So is this all okay to do?

    Maybe not, as it leaves the fowl bitter taste of alluding perpetuated stereotypes in one’s mouth; it’s because blackface-era cartoons always portrayed lewd caricatures of African-Americans eating these foods.

    “Quite offensive because they put everything that we’ve accomplished into a menu,” Dr. Doris Limbrick, principal of Acts Christian Academy in East Oakland told KPIX 5.

    Yet, there’s always room for the neutral perspective: Professor James Taylor of the University of San Francisco saw why some students and teachers would find the choice of cuisine offensive, despite no ill-will:

    “Chicken, watermelon, collard greens — these stereotypes of black Southern culture that come from the same place where the N-word comes from.”

    But others like Elizabeth Williams of the Contra Costa County Equal Opportunity Commission and a member of the NAACP mentioned that the food wasn’t offensive at all; these delectable delicacies deserve devouring and decompressing.

    “What is the big deal?” Williams told CBS SF. “Historically and even now, we like our chicken and I’m not going to stop eating my fried chicken, nor my cornbread, nor my watermelon.”

    “Let’s move on. Let’s be more progressive. Let’s not be so insulted about something so minute.”

    But how did this all happen? Who allowed such food items to be placed on the menu and why?

    Last Thursday, further damage control came from the school’s Director of Communications Christina Ditzel in the form of a PDF letter posted on the school’s website. Essentially, there was a communication gap; even without the approval of administrative knowledge or permission, the menu was still dished out.

    Whoopsie doodle.

    Image via WikiCommons

  • Friday Night Tykes: Televised Child Abuse?

    Friday Night Tykes: Televised Child Abuse?

    When I previously wrote an article about the NFL’s distancing itself from the Esquire reality television series, “Friday Night Tykes”, I had a feeling in the pit of my stomach that it was going to be even worse than I thought it would be. And as criticism pours in after the debut episode, it appears that feeling was correct.

    I’m not talking about the sort of inevitable criticism that occurs over controversial happenings where people having differing points of views about politics.

    This is a television show that at the end of the day is about children. CHILDREN. Little human beings that might still suffer from bladder control issues such as wetting the bed at night. I can honestly say that many grown-ups would probably wet the beds themselves if they had to put up with the sort of abusive language and behavior that these kids did.

    Some scenes are truly heart-breaking.

    Imagine being a little eight-year-old boy whose parents made the decision that you should go spend quality time with your grandmother for two weeks so that you can have a window of time to enjoy some semblance of a childhood. Imagine being punished for it by being told to run until you could barely stand, and were ready to throw up. Imagine being taunted and laughed at by an adult who calls himself a coach, but is probably just a sadist looking to exploit someone who is too little to fight back.

    This was the reality for a tearful Jaden “J Boogie” Armmer. Again, this was his parent’s decision, and if the coach had that much of an issue with missed practices, why not talk about it with the actual adults in his life?

    This is just one of the many issues that people who dared to watch the show are having. Of course, showcasing questionable treatment of children in sports will always invite the justification of what we are seeing as “teaching discipline and respect” and “making men out of little boys.” I challenge you to find a sane member of the Marines who commands actual troops who would say that he would treat little children in this way. Because when you realize that the truly battle hardened among Americans would likely go about building up our young in an entirely different way, it just showcases the dysfunction of this show.

    Perhaps it’s time Americans got off the couch and stopped allowing someone else to define reality for them. Because when we get to this point, where we are exploiting the pain of the most vulnerable among us for television views, we have truly lost our souls as a society.

    Image via Esquire Network

  • Monster Energy Drinks Investigated By Attorneys

    Your company may want to stop pushing the envelope of your product if it has a history for being a potential causation of five deaths from reports by the Food and Drug Administration.

    Monster Beverage Corporation, the makers of the popular Monster Energy drink has been pitted against the combined forces of east and west: a New York state attorney general and San Francisco city attorney are investigating the company’s marketing towards children.

    San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera and New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman joined forces last month after a federal judge in California tossed out a lawsuit filed by Monster; the company wanted to stop Herrera’s ongoing investigation that first began in 2012.

    Herrera filed a lawsuit against the company that claimed that Monster Energy drinks posed serious health issues as well as violating California state law by misbranding and marketing them towards children.

    Roughly 3,000 miles away in New York, Scheniderman issued subpoenas to multiple energy-drink makers as well as Monster as part of his ongoing investigation.

    “We are disappointed that Monster has remained defiant in marketing products to children,” Herrera said. “We hope this effort will cause the company to correct its irresponsible marketing practices.”

    Monster Beverage Corporation didn’t have an immediate comment on the joint effort, spokesperson Tammy Taylor said.

    Hold the tall large aluminum can of Monster and look closely and you’ll find a warning for all:

    (image)

    Not not that… this:

    (image)

    “Limit 3 cans per day. Not recommended for children, pregnant women, or people sensitive to caffeine.”

    Yet despite the disclaimer, Herrera asserts that the company pushes its product on minors.

    According kidshealth.org, at most, minors should ingest no more than 100 mg of caffeine per day.

    In December 2011, 14 year old Anais Fournier died of cardiac arrest due to caffeine toxicity after consistently consuming two 710 ml cans (3 cups) of Monster Energy per day. The combined amount of Fournier’s daily caffeine intake was 475 mg (14 cans of Coca Cola). It should be noted that Fournier had a pre-existing heart condition known as Ehlers-Danlos syndrome.

    Like a record, Monster has stated repeatedly that its drinks are safe, claiming ignorance of any deaths caused by its products.

    “As a company, we vehemently deny that drinking two cans of Monster Energy by itself can cause a death from caffeine toxicity,” the company said to WRC-TV back in 2012.

    What do you think? Kid friendly?

    Update: Spokesperson Tamara Taylor of Sitrick And Company said in an email to WebProNews that:

    “The sale and consumption of more than 10 billion Monster energy drinks worldwide over more than 11 years has shown that our products are safe. Contrary to allegations, they are not “highly caffeinated” and they are not marketed to children. In fact, a 16-ounce Monster Energy drink contains less than half the caffeine of a 16-oz (medium) size cup of Starbucks brewed coffee. Monster’s labels state: “Consume responsibly: Not recommended for children, people sensitive to caffeine, pregnant women or women who are nursing.”

    Images via Hoax Slayer, World Truth, Forbes, American Live Wire

  • Trace Adkins Drops SeaWorld Performance Amid “Blackfish” Controversy

    Add Trace Adkins to the long list of musicians who have already dropped their shows at SeaWorld. While it was originally just the animal activists fighting for the treatment of the whales, everyone is starting to join in, and realizing how poorly the orcas are treated while in captivity.

    Amid the controversy surrounding the theme park since the release of the groundbreaking documentary Blackfish, it seems that no musician wants to have their name attached to SeaWorld anymore.

    Trace Adkins’ performance is different than the original series of scheduled shows that had seen big time names such as Willie Nelson, Martina McBride and several others cancel. Those musicians were all a part of SeaWorld’s “Bands, Blues and BBQ” series that currently has no musicians scheduled to play anymore.

    The mass strike from the musical acts from SeaWorld’s calendar began soon after CNN’s broadcast of the documentary Blackfish in October.

    While in some cases, documentaries are embraced by a small crowd and are not given much mainstream attention, Blackfish has worked at great lengths to change the minds about how people all over the country view SeaWorld, prompting people to want to have it shut down.

    In a statement that was sent in an email from a representative of Trace Adkins’ to CNN, it was reported that “Trace prefers that the focus of his performances be on music, not on controversy. Therefore, he has decided not to proceed with this show in the midst of this debate.”

    Blackfish is a documentary that tells the story of the killing of a SeaWorld trainer in 2010. It also helps to raise questions about the safety and humaneness of keeping the killer whales in captivity, in addition to how they are captured in the wild.

    Celebrities have continued to speak out, with singers refusing to perform and several actors have seen the film, and then taken to social media outlets to tell everyone else to do so, and to avoid SeaWorld.

    Post by The Cove.

    Trace Adkins has made a bold move in joining several other musical acts in refusing to have their name attached with SeaWorld due to the power that Blackfish has had. How many more of these cancellations will need to happen in order for the park to be shut down for good? Will it happen?

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Friday Night Tykes: NFL Not Impressed

    Friday Night Tykes: NFL Not Impressed

    You may or may not have seen the ad for the new Esquire show, “Friday Night Tykes”. It features a bite-size version of adult football. By that I mean there’s rough contact, injuries, and coaches screaming all sorts of obscenities at children. All the things that build “winning mentalities”, right?

    Well, not everyone is impressed with the inside look at Texas youth football.

    An NFL spokesman referred to the trailer for the show as “troubling to watch”, especially the head-to-head collisions, a type of contact known to cause serious injuries and even brain damage. The spokesman was quick to distance the show from the NFL’s own Heads Up Football Program, which the person said encourages safety in youth programs.

    In contrast, a spokeswoman for the Esquire Network called the show an “authentic and provocative glimpse into an independent youth football league in Texas.” Where authenticity is concerned, there’s no doubt that those are real kids. However, provocative might just be another word for exploiting the mental and physical pain of children for money. Like child pageant reality television, only without the poofy dresses and tiaras (and come on, we all know at least one stage mom has been tackled).

    Perhaps even more telling is the attempt to rationalize the stage parent/coach behavior behind the series where, “coaches and parents offer insight into why they believe they are teaching their children valuable lessons about discipline and dedication”.

    So wait, this isn’t the wet dream of hyper-paternal figures who feel that swearing at little boys and encouraging violence that could permanently damage their still growing bodies will teach them to be real men and not “wussies”? Who else is flabberghasted?

    In any case, one has to wonder what it means when persons representing the grown-up version of what this show is hoping to emulate are backing away from being associated with it. Friday Night Tykes too gritty for the NFL? Perish the thought.

    Image via Esquire Youtube

  • Natasha Leggero Not Apologizing. Uh Oh, SpaghettiOs?

    Natasha Leggero kicked off the New Year fighting a ton of backlash for a joke about Pearl Harbor veterans and SpaghettiOs.

    It was a situation of a new controversy developing that managed to overshadow the original controversy in question. On the December 7th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, the SpaghettiOs twitter asked that Americans take a moment from their holiday preparations to remember the veterans. The idea of a company whose brand one doesn’t readily associate with one of the most traumatic events in American history tweeting at people about it was bizarre on its face. SpaghettiOs message shared a picture of the brand’s mascot holding an American flag and looking just a little too happy. Needless to say, those who came across the tweet were less than impressed.

    (image)

    A few weeks later, the screen capture was shared on “New Year’s Eve with Carson Daly” and Leggero was asked about it.

    In the aftermath of the fallout over the comment, it must be said that SpaghettiOs must be thanking its lucky stars for Leggero, who managed to both take the focus off of their questionable tweet and get the brand all sorts of free publicity. As for the embattled funny woman, she is standing firm, and refuses to say sorry.

    Via her own website she writes a lengthy explanation for her behavior.

    “I wish I could apologize, but do you really want another insincere apology that you know is just an attempt at damage control and not a real admission of guilt? Let me just try instead to be honest.”

    In any event, Leggero joins a long line of comedians and one Megyn Kelly in the struggle to make questionable jokes without apologizing for them when they appear to go too far.

    She did raise one very interesting point: How is it that many Americans find time to care about a throwaway remark on New Year’s Eve, but not enough time to care about the very real struggle to get American veterans the medical care and financial support they need?

    Some will fire back that they are capable of multitasking. To this, Leggero has already responded with a pre-emptive, “Kudos”.

    Image via SpagettiOs Twitter, Artie Lange

  • Kanye West Promises Not To Talk Shi* For Six Months

    A day before New Year’s Eve (Monday) on stage in Toronto for his final gig of his Yeezus tour, a glowing and introspective Kanye West looked deep into his audience, sincerely admitting his plans for the next year: to not talk shit for the next six months.

    Doing what he does best by talking about himself, West stated to his fans that, “I just feel I want to take this opportunity for 2013 to uh… turn off a bit” –  If anyone ever wanted to see “some realness”, they could always re-listen and re-read (assuming you’ve already done so) his past interviews. Radar Online reported.

    “Everything I’m saying that’s not allowed, soak it in right now. This might be the last time y’all hear me talk shit for a long time. Might be another like six months. At least. You’re just gonna have to run back the interviews and shit if you wanna hear some realness.”

    Below is the fan shot footage of West’s 27 minute speech.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UObissD1fdo

    West pondered to his audience, asking, “Why people got to say something negative to say about someone who’s got something to say?”

    “2014…. 2014…. 2014…. 2014…. I’m not even thinking about 2013 anymore.”

    West mentioned he wasn’t going to be attacking Nike or The Grammy’s again, stating he won’t “ever bring up Nike again, and the only way I’ll bring them up is in a positive light… I’ll never bring up the Grammys again in a negative light, because I actually appreciate the 21 Grammys that I did win… So I’m letting you all know that this is the last Yeezus show, and this is the last time you’ll ever hear me say [anything] negative about anyone.”

    In regards to the Grammys, West said in some type of contradictory doublespeak that seemed a tad bit hypocritical to his original mission statement: “I wanted to say fuck you, because I love you.”

    “Fuck you for Christmas. Fuck you with the love.” West repeated five times, directed straight at the Grammys.

    “You don’t have shit motherfucker; you rent the Staple’s center for one night and give some goddamn awards away.”

    West had criticized (hated on?) the Grammy Awards while on tour in Phoenix, Arizona. He was disappointed that the US awards body didn’t include “Yeezus” in their Album of the Year category. West wasn’t happy enough that “Yeezus” won Best Rap Album and Best Rap Song for “New Slaves” and that the praise he got for both nominations were “patronizing.”

    “People come to me and they congratulate me on those two nominations. Fuck those nominations!”

    “Bitch, I can make a t-shirt.”

    “I am thinking ‘bout 2014 twenty-four hours a day.”

    “I am thinking ‘bout 5 years ahead.”

    “Ten years and now and shit ya know, I’ll be running my own Walt Disney and shit, ya know.”

    “How is it okay to talk shit about musicians?”

    “What if there was no music, people would talk shit about the silence.”

    Pictures via WikiCommons

  • Miley Cyrus’s Bad Reputation Scaring Other Celebrities Away

    When you hear the name Miley Cyrus,you most likely think,”what did she do now?”Every week,there is another news story about her crazy antics.Some people see her behavior as a clear cry for help.Others see it as crazy marketing.Whatever the reason for Cyrus’s new attitude and behavior,she has developed a bad reputation.The kind that makes others fear being associated with her.Therefore, she’s currently a PR person’s worst nightmare.

    In an interview with the New York Times, Miley discusses some of her interactions with other celebrities.She talks about taking pictures with unnamed artists, who feared what those pictures could do to their fame. Cyrus recounted this encounter by saying, “I’m with artists sometimes, and I’ll take a picture of them or whatever. They make me delete it.” The interviewer seemed a little shocked by this,and Cyrus began to further explain.

    “Yeah, it’s insane. I’ll get someone to, like, flash me, and they’ll be, like, ‘You have to delete it!’ I had to do that when I was 14 or 15, but even then I didn’t care. Like, if someone was videoing me ripping a bong, I didn’t care, so it’s just funny to me. I’m like: ‘Dude, you’re 30. Like, why can’t someone see a picture of your [breasts]?’

    Cyrus then went on to talk about some of her other recent celebrity encounters, like with Ariana Grande.She wanted Grande to walk out with her, to give a little edge to her good girl image. Grande, who stars on the Nickeloden show Sam and Cat, may have been a little hesitant to join Cyrus for a picture. Cyrus didn’t necessarily say if Grande refused her request, but she did say she understood how Grande had obligations to the Nickeloden network. Obligations that ensures she stays kid friendly with her behavior.Cyrus then went on to compare Grande’s situation with what happened to her back with the bong incident.Cyrus was still on Hannah Montana when she was filmed with a bong:

    “like, you know, bong videos — when I was on Disney. But I never wanted to do that to Disney. When I was no longer employed by anyone, that’s when I was like, ‘O.K., I’m going to do my own thing.’ But I waited until I felt like I had respectfully finished out what I was supposed to do, you know?”

    Cyrus also talks about the recent  claim that Joe Jonas made about Cyrus and Demi Lavoto pressured him into smoking pot.She said she thought he revealed this incident to seem more “badass’, but it did the opposite.

    Cyrus concludes the interview by saying she knows that right now she’s a controversial artist but eventually someone new will emerge to take her spot. However, releasing videos like “Wrecking Ball” and “Adore” won’t stop the controversy anytime soon.

    Image via, Facebook

  • I Stand With Phil Petition: Bigotry In Danger?

    When people sign the “I Stand With Phil” petition, what is it that they’re actually standing with? You’ve probably heard the following or seen it written: “I stand with Phil Robertson because freedom of speech is under attack!”

    The First Amendment of the American Constitution defines freedom of speech as the following:

    “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

    Despite American citizens repeatedly saying is our freedom of speech under attack based on the drama surrounding a reality television show, this just isn’t the case. Unless Congress and all fifty states passed laws while we were sleeping.

    What is being argued regarding Phil Robertson is really about bigotry in America: The freedom to hate and hate openly. The problem is that yes, you are free to do that. This is why the KKK and other hate groups are able to have parades and meetings, despite a history of murder and terrorist-actions orchestrated by persons related to such groups. Yes, as an American you are free to hate other people for any reason you want to or for no sensible reason at all. No one has taken that right away.

    Even certain politicians have gotten it wrong on that front:

    Millions of Americans being up in arms about a scripted television show is embarrassing enough on the global stage. But up in arms about something that is not true regarding our very own Constitution? A sign that many are either willfully ignorant or just out-and-out uninformed.

    Hate speech is protected by the Constitution until it becomes “fighting words” or something that will lead to imminent harm or violence. This was the decision in the landmark 1992 United States Supreme Court ruling on R.A.V. v. City of St. Paul. American citizens are still free to hold opinions that are unpopular.

    However, you cannot hold an unpopular opinion and be unprepared to see consequences for that opinion or actions that back it up. The reality is that we are living in a world where people are changing, and the popular opinions of yesteryear are going. Remember, once upon a time it was seen as perfectly Christian to burn down churches or hate someone for the color of their skin. Now, It’s no longer seen as okay to ostracize people for their race. We are increasingly see sexual orientation as something that it is less and less okay to demean or hate without a negative response. And religion is simply no longer seen as a valid reason for justifying this form of bigotry.

    Bigotry, when it falls outside of social mores, is often seen also as bad for business. This is why when ratings and advertising dollars are threatened by unaccepted forms of bigotry, the unpopular bigots tend to go out the window right along with their opinions. This is about money for the powers that be, not Robertson and not the people that support him. Most Americans are not opposed to same sex marriage and don’t approve of homophobia. Even if “Duck Dynasty” appeals to an audience that is fine with discriminatory behavior and opinions, the network has other shows, other audiences, and other advertisers to think about. Whether the angry like it or not, their loud voice is but a whisper in the ocean of money to be made and accolades to be had.

    People can write as many petitions for Phil Robertson as they want to: A&E is not the United States government or a state government or even a city government. It’s a television network looking to protect its brand and be on the right side of history (and its consumer base). History is never kind to bigotry. You may be proud to put your name on a petition today, but ask the people in photographs like this or this how history remembers them. You should be careful regarding what you sign and why you think you’re signing it: You could find yourself wrong on more counts than you know.

    Image via FranAlva

  • Gwyneth Paltrow Calls Truce with VF’s Graydon Carter

    Gwyneth Paltrow has been in the middle of a publicized battle with Vanity Fair’s editor-in-chief Graydon Carter. However, the Christmas spirit may have intervened in this feud as US Weekly reported that the two parties recently worked through their disagreement. According to an insider, “Gwyneth and Graydon spoke on the phone a few weeks ago. They worked out some of their differences.”

    The feud began when Carter directed Hollywood writer Vanessa Grigoriadis to focus on Paltrow for an article in the magazine where the content upset the A-list celebrity. Allegations speculated that Paltrow was involved in an affair with Miami billionaire Jeff Soffer. The popular Iron Man star was so put off by the article that she requested her friends not to speak on her behalf and to boycott events associated with the magazine.

    According to Page Six, the star sent an email asking her friends to do the following: “Vanity Fair is threatening to put me on the cover of their magazine. If you are asked for quotes or comments, please decline. Also, I recommend you all never do this magazine again.”

    In an October interview with London’s Times Magazine Carter said, “We started a story on her. We have a very good writer and it’ll run.”

    Paltrow recently spoke with Red U.K. about her method for handling allegations. “The older I get I realize it doesn’t matter what people who don’t know you think. It doesn’t matter. You’re wasting your energy. It’s like, if your partner comes to you — or your best friend — and says, like, ‘Listen, I want to talk about something you did that hurt me, or I think you could improve,’ sit down and listen to what they have to say. But some friend of so-and-so’s — it’s like, who gives a s–t?”

    Image Via Wikimedia Commons and Courtesy of Georges Biard

  • Engulfed in Controversy, SeaWorld Turns to Groupon

    It’s been a rough year for SeaWorld – at least in terms of press. Back in January, a documentary called Blackfish premiered at Sundance and caught fire. That documentary focused on Tilikum, an orca residing at SeaWorld, Orlando, and condemned the treatment of orcas in captivity.

    The film centers around the death of Dawn Brancheau, a SeaWorld trainer, who was killed by the 6-ton whale in 2010. Tilikum has been involved in the deaths of two trainers and one SeaWorld guest.

    Amid the controversy, SeaWorld has faced a slew of recent cancellations, with many musical acts backing out of the park’s “Bands, Brew and BBQ” concert series. Just today, a California school announced that they would be canceling their long-standing SeaWorld trip due to concerns unearthed in the Blackfish documentary.

    Now, the company is turning to Groupon.

    SeaWorld Orlando is currently running a 40% deal with groupon – offering tickets for $59 each (down from nearly $100). The deal is running until the end of 2013, and tickets purchased will be valid until March 31st, 2014.

    They’re also running sponsored posts for the deal on Facebook.

    Apparently, SeaWorld is looking to expand the deals but isn’t banking on Groupon to play a huge role in future revenue. From the Orlando Sentinel:

    A SeaWorld spokesman said Wednesday that the company is “testing” Groupon at SeaWorld Orlando with some “limited-time offers.” The company has also used Groupon at several of its 10 other parks around the country, including SeaWorld San Antonio and Busch Gardens theme parks in Tampa and Williamsburg, Va.

    “We don’t see it playing a meaningful role in our current or future distribution strategy,” SeaWorld spokesman Nick Gollattscheck said.

    SeaWorld has faced immense backlash following the release of Blackfish. In a public response a couple of months ago, the company called the film “inaccurate and misleading.”

    “Blackfish is billed as a documentary, but instead of a fair and balanced treatment of a complex subject, the film is inaccurate and misleading and, regrettably, exploits a tragedy that remains a source of deep pain for Dawn Brancheau’s family, friends and colleagues.

    To promote its bias that killer whales should not be maintained in a zoological setting, the film paints a distorted picture that withholds from viewers key facts about SeaWorld — among them, that SeaWorld is one of the world’s most respected zoological institutions, that SeaWorld rescues, rehabilitates and returns to the wild hundreds of wild animals every year, and that SeaWorld commits millions of dollars annually to conservation and scientific research.

    Perhaps most important, the film fails to mention SeaWorld’s commitment to the safety of its team members and guests and to the care and welfare of its animals, as demonstrated by the company’s continual refinement and improvement to its killer whale facilities, equipment and procedures both before and after the death of Dawn Brancheau,” said a SeaWorld spokesperson.

    The Groupon deal will be valid for tickets during the Bands, Brew & BBQ festival – assuming there are any musical acts left. SeaWorld says that they are continuing to book replacements.

    Images via Groupon, Wikimedia Commons

  • Phil Robertson Booted From “Duck Dynasty”

    Phil Robertson Booted From “Duck Dynasty”

    Perhaps Phil Robertson has spent far too much time in the woods with the ducks and not enough time in polite society. After all, enough socialization in the 21st century would tell any American what the feedback for his comments would have been. For those who missed it, The Duck Dynasty star landed himself in hot water over his bigoted commentary.

    It all started with the infamous GQ interview, where Robertson ended up discussing his religious and social beliefs. Perhaps for some reason GQ expected him to say something about white after Labor Day or socks with sandals? Regardless of what the interviewer was anticipating, it may not have been this:

    “Don’t be deceived. Neither the adulterers, the idolaters, the male prostitutes, the homosexual offenders, the greedy, the drunkards, the slanderers, the swindlers — they won’t inherit the kingdom of God. Don’t deceive yourself. It’s not right.”

    This is the second part of a an explanation of his feelings about homosexuals and how they are the slippery slope to bestiality. Yikes. And that’s not last of it, unfortunately:

    “All you have to do is look at any society where there is no Jesus. I’ll give you four: Nazis, no Jesus. Look at their record. Uh, Shintos? They started this thing in Pearl Harbor. Any Jesus among them? None. Communists? None. Islamists? Zero. That’s eighty years of ideologies that have popped up where no Jesus was allowed among those four groups. Just look at the records as far as murder goes among those four groups.”

    Wow. ….So that’s it? ….Please?

    “I never, with my eyes, saw the mistreatment of any black person. Not once. Where we lived was all farmers. The blacks worked for the farmers. I hoed cotton with them. I’m with the blacks, because we’re white trash. We’re going across the field…. They’re singing and happy. I never heard one of them, one black person, say, ‘I tell you what: These doggone white people’—not a word!… Pre-entitlement, pre-welfare, you say: Were they happy? They were godly; they were happy; no one was singing the blues.”

    Oh dear. It seems safe to assume that no one ever got around to telling Robertson that Germany is no longer under Nazi control and Japan is currently one of our staunchest allies. As for that whole Civil Rights Movement? Clearly African Americans wanted more out of life than “picking cotton”. Between commentary on other ethnic groups and gay men and women, the fallout was never going to be pretty.

    When criticism first emerged, Phil Robertson had said in his own defense, “I myself am a product of the ‘60s” who indulged in sex and drugs until hitting bottom and accepting Jesus as his savior…I would never treat anyone with disrespect because they are different.”

    The “I am a product of my time” defense is a popular one. The problem is that the groups who are discriminated against today didn’t just pop up out of the ground yesterday. Many of those individuals are the same age as Robertson and can recall a painful existence as the result of hate and ignorance.

    The duck hunter’s justification is not enough for A&E. The network has stated that Robertson is off the show indefinitely. A&E experienced similar woes a few years ago when Dog the Bounty Hunter star Duane Chapman was recorded by his son in a racist rant against the young man’s choice of girlfriend. Production was halted and though the series returned eventually, it suffered low ratings. This led to its cancellation in 2012.

    As for whether or not Duck Dynasty will experience the same fate, that remains to be seen.

    Image via FranAlva

  • Megyn Kelly Stands By Offensive Statements

    In a move that doesn’t surprise too many people, Megyn Kelly will be standing by her wildly offensive and controversial remarks regarding the racial identities of Santa Claus and Jesus Christ.

    The Fox News pundit claims her remarks were tongue-in-cheek rather than foot-in-mouth.

    Megyn Kelly spoke out about the backlash on her show, “The Kelly File.”

    “Humor is what we try to bring to this show, but that’s lost on the humorless. This would be funny if it were not so telling about our society, in particular, the knee-jerk instinct by so many to race-bait and to assume the worst in people, especially people employed by the very powerful Fox News Channel.”

    Oddly enough, Kelly assumes that everyone taken aback by the opinion is concerned merely as a cover for “race-baiting”. It’s clear she doesn’t know the actual historical basis for the men in question involves people that aren’t the sort of white she has in mind. In the Islamophobic and Anti-Semitic world that many people live in, Middle Eastern or Jewish individuals never will be white in America. At least not as white as the revered figures of Christ and Claus in paintings.

    Is Kelly the exception to the rule? Well…it remains to be seen.

    A more disconcerting question is exactly where the joke is in Kelly’s rant. Was she kidding about there being a Santa Claus? Was she joking about the existence of Jesus Christ? Was she playing their racial identity for laughs?

    Even if she’s joking, there’s not really anything in what she said that could be construed as a belly-laugh in the making. It should also be remembered that not all jokes are funny and can be at the expense of disenfranchised ethnic groups.

    As for Megyn Kelly and her explanation, perhaps she should simply stick to her day job and leave the off-color jokes alone.

    Image: The Young Turks Youtube