Conversion therapy has been a hot topic for a while now with the LGBTQ+ community calling out the harm it has caused. Twenty states and more than 100 municipalities have banned conversion therapy in the United States, but no nationwide ban has happened as of yet. In India, conversion therapy is still an accepted form of therapy, and though there is evidence that it exacerbates symptoms of depression, shame, addiction, self harm and suicidal tenancies, being gay was outlawed in the country until 2018, and conversion therapy is considered treatment.
Royal Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil, India’s first openly gay prince, is continuing his fight to ban conversion therapy in India. In 2006, the prince made history at the age of 41 by coming out as gay. The decision to come out was immediately condemned due to his position and the fact that India had recently disregarded its outdated law, which used to be punishable by a lifetime in prison. Singh Gohil told Insider that people burned him in effigy. “The day I came out, my effigies were burnt. There were a lot of protests, people took to the streets and shouted slogans saying that I brought shame and humiliation to the royal family and to the culture of India,” he said. “There were death threats and demands that I be stripped of of my title.”
The prince is the 39th direct descendent of the Gohil Rajput dynasty and dedicates his time to supporting LGBTQ+ causes and providing education around LGBTQ+ issues. He blames ignorance around LGBTQ+ people for the way others reacted when he came out as gay. Despite homophobic attitudes and being rejected by his parents, the prince continues to advocate for the queer community in India.
In fact, Singh Gohil is so dedicated to pushing forward education and protection of the LGBTQ+ community that in 2018 he opened up his 15-acre palace grounds to become an LGBTQ+ center. He also launched Lakshya Trust 20 years ago, which is a community-led charity that focuses on education around sexual tolerance, gender equity, HIV/AIDS and the LGBTQ+ community. Some may find it surprising that a prince in a country where homosexuality was banned until recently would be such a fierce advocate for queer rights. To Singh Gohil, this has been a long battle starting years before he came out publicly.
The prince revealed to Insider that he was once subjected to conversion therapy due to his family’s dismissal of the idea that he could be homosexual. He said, “They approached doctors to operate on my brain to make me straight and subjected me to electroshock treatments.” Singh Gohli was eventually sent to religious leaders in an effort to help him “behave normally” after conversion therapy was unsuccessful.
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The prince plans to keep advocating for the queer community, saying, “It’s important for people like me who have a certain reputation in society to continue the advocacy. We can’t just stop because the country repealed Section 377,” he explained. “Now we have to fight for issues like same-sex marriage, right to inheritance, right to adoption. It’s a never-ending cycle. I have to keep fighting.”
It’s amazing to see such an important person not only be a member of the LGBTQ+ community in India but to openly advocate for it. The fight for equality is not easily won, but having royalty on your side has to be a boost to the cause for the queer people of India.
There’s a lot going on right these days in the world, and these things aren’t so comforting. You know what I’m talking about: a pandemic, a war breaking out, legal battles between former spouses who happen to be celebrities. It’s been a little rough to stomach it all, to say the very least, but at least we can look at videos of cute doggies.
Not only that, but there’s now a video of Danny Trejo, the tough guy (and taco mogul) who has launched a zillion villainous expressions and poses, playing with his dogs. Isn’t it about time that you pause and enjoy the finer things in life, as well as something that isn’t going to stress you out and give you a headache?
Well, get down with this video that Trejo made (for Whistle Sports). And he has a very simple concept with which he works: “I don’t like people that don’t like dogs!” He also thinks cats are too spoiled, and he’s not wrong. Enjoy:
That’s all, really. Sometimes it helps to pause and have a cuddle with furry friends. Even the leading man of Machete needs that unconditional love from a pet who will jump and down when you come home after being outside for only a few minutes. After all, you can always get back to stressing out tomorrow.
Sometimes the best new R&B can be hard to find, but there are plenty of great rhythm-and-blues tunes to get into if you have the time to sift through the hundreds of newly released songs every week. So that R&B heads can focus on listening to what they really love in its true form, we’ll be offering a digest of the best new R&B songs that fans of the genre should hear every Friday.
This week, we’ve received a new single from Muni Long. The “Hrs & Hrs” singer returns with “Another” which stands as a stern warning to her lover about reciprocation. Elsewhere, Toronto singer Dylan Sinclair gears up to release his third project with “Lifetime” while DJ Neptune teams up with Jamaican singer Konshens and fellow Nigerian singer Mr Eazi for “Walangolo.”
Muni Long — “Another”
The success that Muni Long song saw with “Hrs & Hrs” brought her a lot in 2022. After a name change from Priscilla Renae, Long has enjoyed a second career of sorts thanks to a new fan base and a fresh deal with Def Jam. In order to keep her momentum alive, she returns with “Another.” The track takes a moment to give a stern warning to her lover who fails to reciprocate the love she gives him.
Dylan Sinclair — “Lifetime”
Less than two years after he shared his JUNO-nominated second project Proverbs with the world, Tonrot native Dylan Sinclair is gearing up to share his third project. Next month, Sinclair will release No Longer In The Suburbs, a project he calls a “search for that stimulation.” After releasing “Suppress,” Sinclair returns with “Lifetime,” a coming-of-age record that watches the Sinclair transition into young adulthood.
DJ Neptune, Mr Eazi & Konshens — “Walangolo”
Five months after he released his Greatness 2.0 project, DJ Neptune is back with a new single and he arrives with a couple friends beside him. Neptune drops off “Walangalo” with Nigerian singer Mr Eazi and Jamaican singer Konshens. Mr Eazi and Konshens most recent projects came in 2021 with the former dropping his Something Else EP at the top of the year while Konshens’ last body of work came at the end of 2021 with Red Reign
Tayc — “Dodo” Feat. Adekunle Gold
At the end of last year, French singer Tayc released “Dodo” as a part of his Fleur Froide – Second État: La Cristallisation. Now the record is growing in popularity thanks to the addition of Nigerian singer Adekunle Gold for a new remix. The duo’s soft vocals blend well for a record that will surely do well in the afrobeats circuit.
Gemaine & Charlie Heat — New Jack City
After promoting the project with a trio of singles they released in 2022, singer-producer duo Gemaine and Charlie Heat arrive with their debut project New Jack City. It arrives with 11 songs and guest appearances from Guapdad 4000, Too Short, Ymtk, and City James. Altogether, the project is inspired by the pace and swagger of gangster films like 1991’s New Jack City.
Debbie — “Stay”
The British singer kicks off her 2022 campaign with her new single “Debbie.” The track is the 23-year-old’s first release since December’s “Summer In December” and “Debbie” arrives as a tender record that finds her stuck between keeping allowing a significant other to stick around or moving on from them.
Jay Isaiah & Roderick Porter — “Over U”
Ontario-based singer Jay Isaiah arrives with his brand new single “Over U” and it features fellow Ontario native Roderick Porter. Together, Isaiah and Porter express the struggles of moving on from a past relationship. Finally, they realize that the best way to move on is to find someone else to give their love to.
ChuXChu — “Weakness”
New York-born and Nigeria-raised singer ChuXChu is looking to start the next chapter of his career with his new single “Weakness.” The track is a warm and bubbly track that he uses to admit his affection for a woman in his life. Through the track, he admits she’s his weakness while striving to do everything to win her over.
Hermez — “SugaBlu” Feart. Mauimoon & Suté Iwar
After kicking off the year with two singles, “Lucid Cruise” and “Lucky Me,” Nigerian singer Hermez returns with his latest drop “SugaBlu.” It arrives with features Mauimoon and Suté Iwar for what stands as a euphoric and rhythmic record that errs on the alté side of things.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
If you spend any amount of time on certain social media sites, you might think the world has fully plunged into hell-in-a-handbasket territory. (Looking at you here, Twitter.) Viral videos of bad behavior have swept through our feeds with alarming regularity over the past few years. Even just perusing headlines may lead you to believe humanity has lost its humanity, that people are generally terrible to each other and that the partisan polarization that now dominates the political landscape has created a hopeless, toxic toilet full of division and hate.
We’re obviously not all singing around the campfire before skipping off into the sunset together, but is humanity really doomed to not care about one another?
Nope. Not even a little bit.
In fact, the perception that things have gotten worse isn’t grounded in reality at all, at least not according to the data.
Since 2012, the World Happiness Report has been compiled by the UN’s Sustainable Development Solutions Network. Using data from Gallup World Poll, the report shares rankings of happiness based on how respondents rank their own life and on various quality-of-life factors in countries around the world.
You’re probably wondering what the happiest country in the world is, so let’s get that out of the way. It’s Finland, for the fifth year in a row. (And yes, the Scandanavian countries were all in the top eight. Some things are just a given at this point.)
This year’s report also included sections that specifically analyzed how life has changed during the 2020 and 2021 COVID-19 pandemic, comparing data over the last five years to see the impact the pandemic has had on people in various circumstances. One element the researchers analyzed was benevolence, as measured in “prosocial behaviour” such as donating to causes, doing volunteer work and helping strangers.
The verdict? We’re not getting worse. We’re getting better.
The conclusion of the report states:
“Although our three measures of prosocial behaviour—donations, volunteering and helping strangers—had differing levels and trends, all showed increases in 2021 in every global region, often at remarkable rates not seen for any of the variables we have tracked before and during the pandemic.
Global benevolence, as measured by the average of the three measures of prosocial behaviour, has increased remarkably in 2021, up by almost 25% of its pre-pandemic level, led by the helping of strangers, but with strong growth also in donations and volunteering.”
Benevolence is up by almost 25% over pre-pandemic levels. Who would’ve guessed?
I shared this report with my teen and young adult daughters and both responded with surprise. We’ve talked about how social media and media in general can skew our perceptions of things, so it was nice to have some data-driven evidence to back that up.
People being less benevolent, not more, isn’t the only skewed perception many of us gotten during the pandemic. I’ve heard countless people lament the mental health crisis posed by pandemic lockdowns, citing a huge spike in suicides as supposed evidence. Except there was no spike in suicides. In fact, suicides overall went down during 2020 after the pandemic hit.
When we pay too much attention to viral negativity and outrage, we don’t get an accurate picture of what’s happening overall around the world. I’m not saying we should quit social media altogether, but I do think we need to take news and stories and videos and everyone’s thoughts about them with a grain of salt. It’s just far too easy to walk away from a scrolling session with the impression that humanity sucks, when the reality is more people are helping one another.
The World Happiness Report summed up the hope we can find in the data quite beautifully:
“The COVID-19 pandemic starting in 2020 has led to a 2021 pandemic of benevolence with equally global spread. All must hope that the pandemic of benevolence will live far beyond COVID-19. If sustainable, this outpouring of kindness provides grounds for hope and optimism in a world needing more of both.”
As trans children face bullying, violence and a potential loss to healthcare rights, the world might seem like a hostile and lonely place.
However, several trans adults, now thriving in their post-formative years, have taken to Twitter to offer solidarity and hope.
Kicked off by Axios Chief Technology Correspondent Ina Fried, the Letters 4 Trans Kids hashtag recognizes that “it’s been a rough time for trans and nonbinary youth,” and offers to show support by “posting a message of encouragement to these amazing young people.”
Hundreds did.
Fried set the tone early on with her letter, which was filled with compassion.
“I know it can be hard sometimes — really hard. It’s tough enough to figure out who you are inside. And then you have to figure out what to do with that knowledge and how to make your way in a world that isn’t always so kind.
Please know that however many angry voices are out there, there are also lots of us cheering you on. I want you to be fully you, whoever that turns out to be. And it’s okay if it takes some time to figure it out.
That’s part of what being a kid is supposed to be all about – figuring out who you are.
I just want you to know that I may not know you, but I see you and I stand proudly with you and for you every day.
Keep being you.”
From there, journalist Arthur Webber followed suit, sharing a story from his own childhood:
“My nights were spent praying that in the morning I would be a boy. I would wake up disappointed. However, I already was a boy–no divine intervention required.
On Christmas Eve aged 7, I cut off all my own hair and enthusiastically told my family that I finally was a boy. I had been watching ‘The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe’, so perhaps I took the image of children coming out of a closet too literally. However, I already was a boy–no (terrible) haircut needed.
When I met other children on holiday I would tell them I was a boy. I’d avoid giving them my name and say I was born without one. Which everybody is, really. The devastation I felt when my family would fetch me using my deadname and reveal that the outside world believed I was a girl still lingers with me. However, I already was a boy.
I was a trans kid like you. It’s a limited edition gift with no receipt. Sometimes you’d give anything to return it because it’s too hard to look after, but most of the time you’re thankful that it’s unique.”
Filmmaker Alice Wu applauded trans children for their self-awareness.
“In many ways, you are more mature than the world is (than I was at your age)….we need you,” she wrote.
“I am embracing you. Accessing the Power, the Magic, the Love of our friends, our community, our ancestors and engulfing us in it,” wrote Puerto Rican actor and drag king Vico Ortiz. “We are so proud of you…you are a light in this world. A gift…I am in awe of how fierce y’all are…and with every fiber of my being I will fight with you and for you because you are indispensable.”
He also noted having more representation than ever on “film, tv, media” starkly contrasting “thousands of bills threaten[ing] our very existence” felt “a little dystopian.” However, he regarded it as a “reminder” of the trans community’s power.
Countless tweets began to flood in from other trans artists, advocates and allies ready to open up their hearts.
I’m so sorry that there are people in this world who will try to dim your light, please don’t let them. There are so many allies who would love to help and be a support for you. You are loved. #letters4transkids
#Letters4TransKids embracing who you are can be scary, but also great! You’re on a path to finding new levels of happiness and that’s something to celebrate. It’s ok to like who you are and your experiences, and to feel pride — Andrew K Copeman (@AndrewKarlyle) April 20, 2022
Everyone had a different version of supportive words and stories. However, the general message was clear: You are valued exactly as you are, and you are not alone.
When so many obstacles seem to await these kids—all while facing the everyday challenges of simply growing up—genuine care like this can go a long way.
Save for his brief (and glorious and missed) show Klepper and that whole pandemic thing, Daily Show correspondent Jordan Klepper’s professional life has been dominated by his frequent sojourns into the MAGAverse, his microphone and the repetitive and largely incoherent musings of a strongman cosplayer turning him and other media kind into enemies of the people.
It’s all enough to understand why someone might want to get out of Dodge and see the world, exploring cultural differences while maybe establishing residency as a hedge against a trip back down the rabbit hole in the 2022 and 2024 elections. And that’s exactly what Klepper does in his latest Daily Show special, which airs tonight on Comedy Central at 11:30PM. But for Klepper, this is no vacation (trip to the Hard Rock Cafe aside). Instead, he’s gone to Hungary to better understand that country’s own conservative movement, its Trump-like leader, and why American conservatives seem to have found a scary soulmate and authoritarianism blueprint in the country.
We spoke with Klepper about all of that, the challenge of practicing his particular brand of comedy on foreign soil, being shockingly popular at CPAC (and what that might say about the convictions of some of its attendees), and why his and John Kasich’s shared music tastes might be the indirect bridge back to national sanity if we can only stop trying to get even with each other.
This is our regular wellness check.
I know. Yeah. How are you holding up?
How are you holding up? I’m here. You actually go talk to Trump supporters. I just see them on Twitter.
I wouldn’t recommend it. You’ve got yourself a good situation there. You just stay put, hang out, relax. You’ve got some books [in your office]. You’ve got shoes that look beautiful and like they’ve never been worn. Keep it that way.
They’ve all been accumulated during the pandemic. I’ve been able to talk myself into thinking that they’re investments. I didn’t go crypto, I went Air Jordan.
I will tell you, I think I understand Air Force Ones more than I understand crypto, so I get where you’re coming from.
How’s your reservoir of hope right now for the country and the world?
Oh boy. You know what? I think the water stays the same, but the evaporation level… It’s getting hot. No, I don’t want to be too pessimistic, but I will say it’s tough. I think there are a lot of forces. There seems to be a real groundswell that’s moving away from things that I think are for the betterment of folks, but the betterment of the few seem to be winning over.
I was thinking about what I was going to ask and one thing I wrote down was “why haven’t we eaten the rich yet?” And I thought that was maybe a little dark for a question. I don’t know that I’m officially posing that question.
Well, you know what? I mean, foodie culture is definitely at least on the rise.
There are two things careening towards each other, foodie culture and the dissatisfaction with the wealthy.
That’s all you need is a rebellious spirit and the ability to understand how to make your own sriracha and we’re close. And hopefully when those things come together, then the rich, look out. You’re starting to look more and more delicious.
With the podcast with former Ohio Governor John Kasich, is that a life preserver for you? “Let me find someone I can talk to on the other side who isn’t going to make me want to tear my hair out.”
You know what? That is 100% true. I think that thing came about, and it was I think, surprising to me and to Governor Kasich as well, but it was a little bit of a balm where I’m like, you know what? We actually are talking about things that are outside of the political spectrum, which has been a relief to find common ground on things that aren’t politics but are just life. And you realize that that’s another person as well. And I can relate to him as somebody of a different generation, but who loves music in the way that I like music and we share a lot of that perspective. And I will say, it’s funny in doing a podcast like that… it’s not the most popular thing with the people who tend to follow some of my stuff. I get some hardcore comments here and there.
I think something that I really respect about the governor is that he is a guy who, again, I don’t agree with all his policies, but what I do like is this past election, he put country over party and actually changed his mind, which I think is to be lauded and to be understood. And so this podcast has been a nice way to just talk to somebody who is able to go through that, who comes from a different perspective, and also provides a conservative point of view that is more palatable to me to listen to the arguments behind. I think we have to, we’ve got to be engaging with people who aren’t exactly like us. If we don’t do that, we are shit out of luck.
There’s such a fixation on everything being about politics. And I get that it’s a privileged state to think that you don’t always need to be there, but I don’t know. And it’s such a punitive thing where it’s like, “we need to punish the left or punish the right before we even get back to one and actually negotiate with each other,” and it feels like that’s part of the problem too.
I think it totally is. I mean, in many ways the medium is the message. And so these conversations are taking place on Twitter or Facebook or places that reward you for having that hot take, to be punitive, to be aggro. But it’s harmful. I think, as you said, for some people, it is a privilege sometimes to talk outside of that realm of the things that are affecting people in the political sphere. But it’s also politics is becoming a game and a game only that people are using as a cudgel to beat people down and that’s the only win. But it’s not a win. It’s an empty win that you have online to try to say that somebody’s just stupid. I think, I mean, I think trying to find some amount of understanding and common ground with folks is still the ultimate goal with any kind of discourse is what conversation actually is.
It’s not like that’s always happening in the videos when I go out to talk to Trump folks. And I understand that. Hopefully, there’s a little bit of insight into what that other perspective is and a little bit of comedy for mine. But I think the podcast has been a blast from my perspective to sit down and talk with somebody who’s unlike me and actually get along for the majority of the time. And I think that’s a good reminder that these other human beings that we might be fighting about, some of that stuff is a ploy by people in power to have you fight about that stuff and not talk about the 80% of stuff you actually get along with.
Joel Sadler/Comedy Central
I feel like you might struggle to find that kind of conversational part at a MAGA rally. Do you ever actually encounter that at these sites?
I mean, common ground is few and far between when you go to a lot of these rallies. It didn’t use to always be that way. I would say the Trump rallies were the beginning of… you’re the enemy of the people. Right from the get-go, Trump pointed to the media. If you have a camera and you have a microphone, you are an enemy. So let’s get into it. I mean, I’d like to think there are at least political rallies and political events where people are a little bit sympathetic to some ideas. And I will get people out and about who are maybe more moderate and are interlopers at some of these events who are curious.
I went to CPAC recently expecting people to hate me, not talk to me… that I would be public enemy number one. And I took a remarkable amount of selfies there. And I think that spoke to a lot of things. One, it spoke to how, for some people, this is just a game. And there were some higher-up assistants to important people in the Republican party who came up and were quoting Daily Show pieces back at me in a way that I was like, “but you are supporting somebody who we are making fun of and it was a detriment to our democracy.” And yet they’re still like, “but I still love what all these pieces are.” So maybe you don’t get the joke, or maybe you just don’t care about the messages and the things that you are supporting along with other people who just were excited by the show. The fact that I was somebody on television, a part of this media ecosystem, was more exciting than what perspective I might bring or the pieces that I created. Because you had a lot of thirsty, young conservative potential politicians.
CPAC is jam-packed full of Republican primary candidates who are trying to get their foot in the door. And I talked to a lot of them and they were moderate and they wanted to talk about ideas and they weren’t as extreme as Donald Trump. But what I saw in their eyes and what they started to notice is that’s not getting them any attention. That’s not getting them any money. And they’re there at CPAC and they’re watching other folks who are more extreme get that attention, get that money. And I fear for those folks. They don’t see or have a path in moderation and they will start to cling to these things where they don’t want to talk to you anymore because they just want to play it to their more extreme base.
Did you do anything else in Orlando? I hear they’ve got a good Medieval Times there. Did you go to Disney World?
[Laughs] I think I got enough fantasy land at CPAC. Enough people living in an alternate reality. Yeah, I got my fix.
So the international focus of this special is really great. Does this scratch an itch for you to expand the idea of what these specials are and take these more international going forward?
For sure. I get folks reaching out from all sorts of countries, like, “Ooh, do us please.” So I think there’s a curiosity. I love getting out there talking to people. It’s so eye-opening, so fun, so interesting. And following this movement, there is a global movement. There’s a global conservative movement happening right now. And I think there was a real curiosity about Hungary. It started to become part of the cultural conversation. It was at CPAC. There’s going to be a CPAC in Budapest. And I think for us at The Daily Show, we’ve talked about doing these specials where I think Fingers The Pulse can live doing a handful of pieces out and about talking to people in America. But we’d like to have more expanded specials that we get to do a few times a year where we travel.
We go to big places, take bigger swings, talk to people that you wouldn’t normally get to see in a regular Daily Show piece. And hopefully, bring to the forefront a story that our audience doesn’t know much about. And again, Hungary was definitely that for us. I knew so little other than Tucker Carlson couldn’t get off of Viktor Orban’s nuts. His overly tanned nuts, as we know now, Tucker Carlson’s into. But that was the goal for us of, well, let’s see what this is. Why is this a conservative wonderland?
How much does the language barrier pose a challenge to you? Specifically with your style, when you’re talking to people you’re trying to let them indict themselves to a certain extent.
It’s a challenge. I think it was interesting. That was one of the experiments we had over here. I was traveling with a translator and we talked to people who spoke English. It turns out, most Americans like myself, speak barely one language. And you go to other countries and they usually have got a couple in their back pocket. So I was able to talk to a fair amount of people in English. And that was very similar to the conversations we could have back home talking to people and hearing them talk through it. When it came to people who were speaking Hungarian, it was difficult. I’m working through a translator who’s real-time translating. Harder to improvise and play off of some of the things that people are dropping in that moment.
How do you modulate your tone when you’re in a room with Orban’s spokesperson in a country that isn’t known for its friendliness with journalists?
Well, you leave your phones in the car. So you don’t bring any electronic equipment into the rooms just to make sure any of the tapping they did of other journalists’ phones doesn’t happen to you. You’re respectful. I think with any of these things, especially they were kind enough to invite us in and sit down with it. I will give him credit for that. We were not expecting to talk to essentially the Sarah Huckabee Sanders of Viktor Orban. But he sat down with us. We were respectful of that office and the invite there. But I don’t think we wanted to pull any punches. We wanted to push him and bring these questions that we had. This seemingly hypocritical take on the way they treated Syrians compared to the way they’re treating Ukrainian refugees. The way they talk about the LGBTQ community.
I’d spent a week in Budapest talking to people who were affected by the policies of Viktor Orban. I talked to members of the LGBTQ community who are harassed daily. A man who was trying to adopt a child and that all got stopped. And now he’s going to move away because of that. They’re affected by this person. So I walk in there respectfully, but also with the responsibility to the people that I’ve talked to, who don’t get to chat to people like that who are in positions of power.
I have a conspiracy theory that I worked up last night that I’d like to share. Tucker has the Swanson connection. And Swanson did the Hungry Man TV dinner. Hungary man. Tucker is the Hungary Man. It all connects. Now we know.
Let me tell you, get yourself to a rally, put it on a t-shirt and you could be hanging out with JFK Jr. before you know it.
The t-shirt merch is really where the money is. And now we might see Trump-branded ball tanning machines coming to a rally near you real soon.
God bless. I was going to say, “Hey, you know what? Go ahead guys, fry your balls. If that makes you feel more like a man.”
‘Jordan Klepper Fingers the Globe – Hungary for Democracy’ airs Thursday, April 21 at 11:30PM EST on Comedy Central
Living abroad is something that many folks dream of, even if only for a brief period of time. There are college programs specifically for people who want to study abroad to gain worldly experience, but some people want to live in other countries for reasons other than studying and actually make the leap. In America we’re taught from a fairly young age that America is the best country in the world, and everyone wants to live here, but some people who have lived in other countries are challenging that notion. Aly is a mom who emigrated to Germany nearly three years ago after giving up her job as a professor only months away from making tenure, and she has no regrets.
Aly runs the TikTok account USA Mom in Germany where she educates her followers on some of the major differences between living in the U.S. and living in Germany. She explains in one video how in America she experienced homelessness and food insecurity as a single mother, and makes TikToks to “combat U.S. propaganda.” She goes on to say in the video that “the only way that things are going to change in the U.S. is if people understand that there are different countries, governments, and social systems that work better.”
In her videos she answers questions asked by followers, but also addresses other comparisons, such as the difference in the cost of daycare. In a video that has more than 180,000 likes, she shares the bill she received from her daughter’s daycare, which shows the breakdown for the year. Aly doesn’t talk in the video, but her comment section is filled with shocked reactions at the realization that she only pays $1,856 a year for childcare. One commenter said “not me thinking this was monthly and it sounding right,” complete with an uncomfortably smiling sweat bead emoji. People were in disbelief that her childcare broke down to less than $160 a month, with another person who lives in Germany stating they still felt like the cost Aly pays is too high.
Even baby formula costs a vastly different amount between the two countries. The mom shows a box of formula that in the United States would generally cost about $25, but in Germany the same amount of formula of the best brand you can buy costs the equivalent of $6. Aly doesn’t stop at baby stuff and cost comparisons, she even combats the difference in history being taught in both countries, and shares that German students in grades 11 through 13 learn about current U.S. propaganda that includes U.S. exceptionalism and the American dream, according to excerpts shared by the former professor. The book “The American Dream in the 21st Century: Continuity and Change” by Peter Bruck is the textbook used to teach these high schoolers about the U.S. and, according to Aly, if you search the name of the book with the word “arbitur” behind it, worksheets and study guides will pop up.
USA 🇺🇸 propaganda in Germany 🇩🇪 #livingingermany #germanyvsusa #teachersoftiktok #americandream
Learning how the U.S. is viewed from the outside is an interesting journey, and Aly makes it her mission to not only dispel the narrative that she believed when moving to Germany, but the beliefs of her followers. The mom of three is currently studying German, and has no plans to return to the United States due to many of the reasons she outlines in her videos, including not having to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to send her children to college and feelings of safety while her children are in school. Aly doesn’t paint the U.S. as all bad, but for her, the benefits of living abroad outweigh those of her experience of living in America.
His latest attack is aimed at Georgia Governor Brian Kemp who he’s accusing of working with “Leftist Democrats” to unseat Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene. Recently, political activists in the state have challenged Greene’s ability to run in the upcoming midterms, citing her involvement in the Jan. 6th insurrection as cause for her to be barred from running for office again. Greene is set to testify under oath on Friday about her role in the violent uprising but, before she does, Trump wants everyone to know that she’s really having a hard time of it. Okay?!
“The Governor of Georgia, Brian Kemp, and Secretary of State, Brad Raffensperger, perhaps in collusion with the Radical Left Democrats, have allowed a horrible thing to happen to a very popular Republican, Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene,” Trump wrote. in a statement (via Raw Story) released today. “She is going through hell in their attempt to unseat her, just more of an election mess in Georgia.”
Trump also predicted that Kemp would lose his governorship to Stacey Abrams, should she challenge him again, because Republicans will refuse to vote for him after he bungled the recount in 2020.
“Unlike other Republicans, this Governor does everything possible to hurt the voting process in Georgia, including his approval of a disastrous Consent Decree, and not calling a Special Session that was requested by Georgia’s Republican Senators,” Trump said. “He absolutely refused. Both of those failures were a disaster for the Republican Party, and for our Country. REMEMBER, Brian Kemp will never be able to win the General Election against Stacey ‘The Hoax’ Abrams because a large number of Republicans just will not vote for him.”
Watching a political wing implode on itself in real time is truly something, huh.
Snoop Dogg just did a very revealing interview on the Full Send Podcast. Heck, the “Gin & Juice” rapper has a lot to promote right now. The list of current Snoop Dogg endeavors includes but is not limited to: Acquiring the rights to the Death Row Records catalog, the Mount Westmore supergroup, his recent appearance on the Super Bowl Halftime show, and his American Song Contest with Kelly Clarkson. At this rate, the Snoop Dogg promotion tour might never end, and in between revealing the alarmingly high amount of money he charges for a guest verse, he also reeled off a list of his favorite rappers in the game right now.
“What’s like three people, or one or two people you like?” host Kyle Forgeard asks. Snoop thinks for a second and gives a far more thorough response than Forgeard was likely anticipating: “Uhh… who do I f****** really like? I like NBA YoungBoy. I like DaBaby, Lil Baby, 42 Dugg. I like Future. I like Gunna. Young Thug, Jack Harlow, Benny The Butcher… there’s a lot of motherf*ckers I like.”
He’s eclectic, we’ll give him that. Watch the full episode of Snoop Dogg’s appearance on the Full Send Podcasthere.
Some of the artists mentioned here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Piers Morgan (who was the inaugural Celebrity Apprentice winner, back in the day) is now giving blow-by-blows of ex-President Trump’s raging responses after he huffily stormed out of their combative interview. Do you love to see it? It’s certainly something.
Let’s catch up a bit because the last 24 hours on this subject have been a blur. Piers revealed a promotional clip for his new interview with Trump, and let’s just say that things grew contentious. Trump reportedly grew belligerent and stormed out when Piers dared to remind him that he lost the 2020 election. The New York Post detailed how Trump threw a tantrum, in which he addressed Piers as a “fool” at least half a dozen times. And then Team Trump claimed that the promo was edited to make Trump look more tantrum-y than he actually appeared to be in real time.
Morgan, who knows a thing or two about storming off set himself, stuck to his story while cheekily borrowing one of Trump’s favorite terms to insist that Trump was the one who was dropping “fake news.”
End of story? No freaking way. Trump then released another statement (via Daily Mail), in which he strangely declared that “I don’t believe Piers is a complete slimeball, but he lost a lot of credibility.” Trump went on to accuse Piers’ of being “potentially fraudulent,” and then Trump added, “Piers is off to a bad start, but thanks to me, he may get a final burst of big ratings before it all comes crashing down!”
With all of that back patting out of the way, Piers is clearly thrilled with this turn of events for his new Talk TV program. He tweeted about Trump’s new statement and declared that being un-slimeballed “is relationship progress.”
BREAKING: I’m told President Trump has just issued another statement about me confirming I am NOT a slime-ball. I feel this is relationship progress.
Then Piers hopped back over to the New York Post, where he whipped out a new letter to Trump, and yes, he tore into the reality star:
Until or if you do [stop denying election results], I politely suggest you stop perpetuating such an absurd delusion, which just makes you look like the world’s sorest loser and slightly bonkers. Like a guy pointing at a blue sky and saying it’s red.
You insist that our encounter ended acrimoniously, but as the footage clearly shows, your final actions were to tersely snap “Turn the camera off!” at my crew, then walk away through a side door, loudly muttering “So dishonest” about me.
This came after I courteously shook your hand and thanked you for the interview.
I was shocked. It was an angry and frankly rude way to end a volatile interview, where your mood swung wildly between friendly and hostile — particularly toward the end.
And through all of this, Trump’s team has been denying Piers’ account while saying that Trump didn’t ask for the camera to be turned off until much later in the interview. And since the interview doesn’t air until April 25 (on Fox Nation in the U.S.), there may yet be more versions of this story until the whole thing airs.
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