Sen. Blumenthal asks Facebook executive to ‘commit to ending finsta’
Embed from Getty Images I’m not the hippest, coolest person around, but there’s one thing
Facebook tried to hide the fact that their most viewed article was antivax
We’ve known for a while that folks were using Facebook to get and spread misinformation.
Facebook to Biden admin: we have pro-vaccine information on Facebook too
Embed from Getty Images On Friday, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki called out Facebook
Zachary Quinto hopes George Takei changes his mind about Sulu being gay
Embed from Getty Images Australian outlet Pedestrian.TV asked Star Trek: Beyond star and openly gay actor Zachary Quinto (Spock) to respond to George Takei’s negative take on the fact that the character he played in the original TV series, Sulu, was going to be made gay in the upcoming prequel. As you may recall, Takei said that while he was “delighted that there’s a gay character” that he found it to be a “twisting of [creator] Gene [Rodenberry’s] creation, to which he put in so much thought.” and that he thought it was “really unfortunate.” Takei had explained to both John Cho, who plays him in the reboot, and director Justin Lin why he didn’t want Sulu to be gay and how it was unrealistic for the character that he be closeted throughout his life essentially. They went ahead with that direction for the character despite Takei’s objections. So Quinto has a response for Takei and while the headlines make it seem like he’s going hard against Takei’s statement, in the actual video he’s more measured and makes it about the broader point on inclusion. As a member of the LGBT community myself I was disappointed by the fact that George was disappointed. I think any member of the LGBT community that takes issue with the normalized and positive portrayal of members of our community in Hollywood and in mainstream blockbuster cinema… I get it that he has his own personal journey and his own personal relationship with this character but, you know, as we’ve established in the first Star Trek Film in 2009 we’ve created an alternate universe and my hope is that eventually George can be strengthened by the enormously positive response especially from young people who are heartened by and inspired by this really tasteful and beautiful portrayal of something that I think is gaining acceptance and inclusion in our societies across the world and should be. [From Video on Facebook] So Quinto kind of gets why Takei would object to his character having an entirely different backstory but doesn’t think it matters in the long run, which kind of goes to show how Takei got ignored in the first place. Of course it’s nice to have a gay character in Star Trek but I think they should have listened to Takei and respected his wishes instead of assuming they were doing homage to him. Takei made it clear ahead of time that wasn’t the case and it’s like they expected him to come around, that’s basically what Quino is saying. Also, I tried to go to George Takei’s twitter account to see if he’s responded to Quinto and I just got lost in all the excellent links he shares. (I searched on “Zachary” and “Quinto” on his account and there’s nothing recent.) While searching on Twitter I found that Simon Pegg issued a lengthy response to Takei as well. Pegg defended their decision to make Sulu gay and wrote that they never suggest in the film that Sulu was ever closeted, that it’s an “alternate timeline” with “alternate details” and that “We could have introduced a new gay character, but he or she would have been primarily defined by their sexuality, seen as the ‘gay character’, rather than simply for who they are, and isn’t that tokenism?” Ok, so when Takei said he objected to his character being gay because it wasn’t right for Sulu, did they consider making a different core character gay, like Scotty? Here’s the video and check out John Cho’s body language: Embed from Getty Images
Olivia Wilde: ‘Girls don’t get dressed up for guys; we get dressed up for girls’
Olivia Wilde recently shared some of her beauty secrets with People magazine and I can only hope if I follow them I will look as radiant as she does. Olivia used the interview to do a little shilling for Revlon, for which she is a spokesperson, but she does offer some pretty helpful tips. She says that Jason “doesn’t love it” when she wears red lipstick to channel her inner Sophia Loren, but I’m sure he can look past that. It’s like a tiny scratch on a Bentley. Here are some highlights from the interview: On men and makeup: “All men are terrified of lipstick. But girls don’t get dressed up for guys; we get dressed up for girls. So I wear whatever I think looks best.” On her beauty inspiration: “I like to be bold on the red carpet, and the benefit of working with so many brilliant makeup artists is that I get to ask a lot of questions and say, ‘okay so when I go out next week to that birthday party I am going to try my own version of this with my own tools.’” On her day-to-day look: “I don’t leave the house without a little foundation, concealer and mascara [on]. I think that for a lot of women it’s not about disguising yourself, it’s just about giving yourself a little bump in confidence.” On the power of makeup: “The older I get, the more I get to know what works best for me. Makeup is not about changing who you are, it’s about understanding your face and highlighting your best features.” [From People] I love Olivia, but I have to disagree on a few things. I did an informal poll of my Facebook friends and random Tinder connections and not one man told me he was “terrified” of lipstick. Maybe Jason had some sort of traumatic experience with lipstick as a child. Also, the only woman I get dressed up for is myself. I have also been known to get dolled up to woo the opposite sex, so I think she may be barking up the wrong tree. She is right about using makeup to highlight your best features. She’s obviously a pro at that. Sadly, it was announced on Wednesday that Olivia’s HBO series, Vinyl, was cancelled after only one season. The show, which followed the ups and (mostly) downs of a rock ’n’ roll record label in the 1970s was produced by Martin Scorcese and Mick Jagger, and I thought it was pretty good. And, of course, there’s all kinds of unresolved storylines, damn it. I hope Mick’s son, James, who played a punk singer, shows up somewhere soon. He’s a hottie. I hope Olivia’s merkin stylist can get another gig somewhere as well. Olivia took the news in stride, using Twitter to thank fans for their support. She tweeted, “Thanks for all the kind words about Vinyl, my friends. We had a BLAST, and made something special. Party on.” Thanks for all the kind words about Vinyl, my friends. We had a BLAST, and made something special. Party on. ❤️ — olivia wilde (@oliviawilde) June 23, 2016 Don’t worry about Olivia though, she’s keeping busy. She recently made her directorial debut, helming the video for the Red Hot Chili Pepper’s new song Dark Necessities. Too bad she couldn’t talk Anthony Kiedis out of rocking his “Sonny Bono 2016” look. That boy needs a makeover. Photo small: Getty Images, WENN.com, Fame Flynet
Ruby Rose had just performed at Pulse nightclub: ‘nothing I can do but cry’
As most of you unfortunately know by now, a man whose name I will not dignify by writing walked into the Orlando nightclub Pulse early Sunday morning and committed a heinous act, the worst mass shooting in US history. Among those for whom this hit far too close to home was actor and DJ Ruby Rose. Ruby is a strong voice and advocate for the LGBTQ community and had just recently done a gig at Pulse. Ruby Rose has shared an emotional social media post after the horrific Orlando mass shooting, revealing she performed in the city where 50 people were slain only last week. “Woke up in tears to hear the news about Orlando. Devastated, heartbroken, sick,” the Aussie actor and DJ posted on Facebook and Instagram. “I played there last Friday and last night I performed after Pride in LA. From the DJ booth you see laughter, love, dancing freedom and beautiful people living their lives not harming anyone. It’s one of the beautiful things to see from stage.” “This horrific tragedy has me on my knees at the mercy of a greater power to ask the simple question of ‘When will this end’ … I’m praying for Orlando, I’m crying for Orlando and I am there with you in spirit sending my love and strength.” [From Page Six] I cannot begin to imagine what it would be like for Ruby to have been in that location, celebrating one day and waking up to find out that about a week later 50 lives were taken there. I had a loose connection to the UCLA shooting earlier this month and the chill of having proximity to tragedy is hard to shake. The heartbreak from this tragic event is far reaching. J.K. Rowling posted the following to her Twitter Sunday to honor one of the victims, Luis Vielma. Luis worked on the Harry Potter ride at Universal Studios in Orlando: Luis Vielma worked on the Harry Potter ride at Universal. He was 22 years old. I can't stop crying. #Orlando pic.twitter.com/Nz2ZCWxNsS — J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) June 13, 2016 Walt Disney World, which was another potential target for attack, and Universal both lost cast members. I have a friend at Disneyland, Anaheim and all cast members are devastated. Even if they had not met their East Coast counterparts, there is a real sense of family among the parks. I absolutely believe J.K. feels Luis’ loss personally. You can see a couple of general tributes posted by the cast members here and here. The Daily Beast has profiles and photos of many of the young people whose lives were cut tragically short. I don’t know how to close this post with the proper respect. Please know my heart goes out to anyone and all affected by this. By way of concluding, I want to leave the thoughts of Michigan State Representative Jeremy Moss: I literally never want to hear again that LGBT people in the bathroom are a threat to public safety. — Jeremy Moss (@JeremyAllenMoss) June 12, 2016 Embed from Getty Images Embed from Getty Images Embed from Getty Images There is nothing I can do today but cry and pray as I lay in shock after waking to the horrible senseless crime in Orlando. — Ruby Rose (@RubyRose) June 12, 2016 I was in Orlando friday and played to a beautiful mostly LGBT crowd and I never once imagined reading this days after. These lives taken. — Ruby Rose (@RubyRose) June 12, 2016 Photo credit: Twitter, WENN Photos and Getty Images
Cincinnati Zoo Parents May Be Charged in Connection to Gorilla Shooting
The fallout from this weekend’s tragic shooting at the Cincinnati Zoo continues. As previously documented, and as depicted in the video below, a four-year old boy fell into the gorilla enclosure at this famous facility on Saturday, May 28. After the gigantic animals grabbed hold of the boy and started thrashing him about, officials were left with no choice but to have an employee fatally shoot the gorilla, who was 17 years old and named Harambe. Was the animal protecting the toddler? Hurting him? About to cause him real harm? Watch the surveillance footage and try to decipher for yourself: Cincinnati Zoo Gorilla Killed to Save Toddler’s Life: Who’s to Blame? Debate has raged all over the Internet in regard to the incident, with critics wondering why the zoo could not simply use a tranquilizer on the gorilla. The zoo has responded by saying the tranquilizer would have taken too long to go into effect. Others have placed the blame squarely at the feet of the boy’s parents, specifically his mother, Michelle Gregg. In response to the criticism she has received online, Gregg posted (and then deleted) a Facebook message that referred to the situation as an “accident” and which thanked God for keeping her son safe. Celebrities from all walks of entertainment life have also weighed in on the death of Harambe: View Slideshow: Harambe Mourned, Celebrated by Celebrities Everywhere Now, sources have confirmed that Cincinnati police are looking into Gregg and Deonne Dickerson, the boy’s father, even though the latter was not at the zoo when his son fell into the gorilla pit. Authorities are reportedly reviewing “the actions of the parents/family that led up to the incident,” according to TMZ, implying they may be charged with the crime of negligence. Do you think they ought to be? Or was this just a very unfortunate accident that has taken on a life of its own due to the Internet? An insider also says the Zoo is NOT under investigation of any kind. It falls under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Agriculture.