GoneTrending

Recently, Balenciaga found itself in some hot water after a controversial ad campaign, which CBS News describes, “The ads, which were said to be to promote Balenciaga’s plush bear bags, were part of the brand’s holiday campaign. The bears, however, are wearing BDSM gear and are being held by children that appear to be no more than 5 years old. In one of the pictures, a child is also surrounded by what appear to be wine and cocktail glasses.”

Now, Gucci’s promotion of their “HA HA HA” line is coming under similar fire thanks to a recent campaign featuring Harry Styles posing with a toddler-sized mattress. It was first shared back in November but has received increased attention recently.

Gucci called the campaign a “performance piece” and said (as NME notes), “Play is at the very heart of the collection, which uses menswear as a tool of the avant garde. Harry Styles showcase[s] the ‘dream wardrobe’ defined by the eccentric use of romantic accents, whimsical prints, vintage details, and the expressive emotionality of the individual. […] Harry Styles enacts a theatrical piece where classicism meets play, transforming the wardrobe into a liberated platform where the masculine can embrace vanity.”

Among those not pleased with the campaign is Alexandra Gucci Zarini, the great-granddaughter of Gucci founder Guccio Gucci. She tweeted, “Gucci was created to be the most elegant brand with the highest quality product. The direction it seems to be taking now is concerning. The protection of children should always come first and not be laughed at.”

Check out some more reactions below.

This article originally appeared on 03.14.18

Stephen Hawking, universally beloved scientist and one of the greatest minds of our generation, died at age 76.

The theoretical physicist, best known for his work in cosmology (particularly with black holes), was both a visionary and an inspiration. Outside his vast intelligence (of which he was very modest, once saying that people who boasted about IQs were losers), he was also a study in resilience and perseverance.

At the age of 21, Hawking was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The disease progresses quickly, and Hawking was given only a short time to live, but he survived for decades and stayed mobile with use of a wheelchair.

Hawking never stopped working, writing about the nature of the universe and traveling from country to country to lecture enthralled audiences.

“Although there was a cloud hanging over my future,” Hawking said of his diagnosis,”I found, to my surprise, that I was enjoying life in the present more than before. I began to make progress with my research.”

In 1988, Hawking published “A Brief History of Time,” which accomplished, as The Independent notes, the “impossible” tasks of not only taking the entire history of time and space and relating it all in just one volume but also making it easy to read and understand for everyone — not just fellow scientists.

“However, if we discover a complete theory, it should in time be understandable by everyone, not just by a few scientists,” Hawking wrote at the end of the book. “Then we shall all, philosophers, scientists and just ordinary people, be able to take part in the discussion of the question of why it is that we and the universe exist. If we find the answer to that, it would be the ultimate triumph of human reason – for then we should know the mind of God.”

Hawking’s influence exceeded the field of science. He was a pop culture phenomenon and an arbiter of great advice — not just on the nature of the universe, but on life itself.

(After all, he was on “The Simpsons.” And who didn’t love him dropping an epic burn on Jon Oliver.)

“My goal is simple,” Hawking once said of his work. “It is a complete understanding of the universe, why it is as it is and why it exists at all.”

Hawking was an inspiration for us all.

He will be deeply missed. And as the celebration of his life flows on social media — who could forget the time he threw a party for time travelers and no one showed up — we’re celebrating Hawking’s contributions to this world with some of his most inspirational quotes, the ones that remind us to look forward, look upward, and never forget the common humanity we all share.

On moving forward in the face of adversity:

“Be curious. However difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at. It matters that you don’t just give up.”

On the importance of a sense of humor:

“Life would be tragic if it weren’t funny.”

On the universe:

“It would not be much of a universe if it wasn’t home to the people you love.”

On what makes humans unique:

“We are just an advanced breed of monkeys on a minor planet of a very average star. But we can understand the Universe. That makes us something very special.”

On the power of communication:

“For millions of years, mankind lived just like the animals. Then something happened which unleashed the power of our imagination. We learned to talk and we learned to listen. Speech has allowed the communication of ideas, enabling human beings to work together to build the impossible. Mankind’s greatest achievements have come about by talking, and its greatest failures by not talking. It doesn’t have to be like this. Our greatest hopes could become reality in the future. With the technology at our disposal, the possibilities are unbounded. All we need to do is make sure we keep talking.”

On the true meaning of intelligence:

“Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change.”

On creating your own fate:

“I have noticed that even people who claim everything is predetermined and that we can do nothing to change it, look before they cross the road.”

On knowledge:

“The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge.”

On the power of possibility:

“Time travel used to be thought of as just science fiction, but Einstein’s general theory of relativity allows for the possibility that we could warp space-time so much that you could go off in a rocket and return before you set out.”

On living your best life:

“Here are the most important pieces of advice that I’ve passed on to my children. One, remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Two, never give up work. Work gives you meaning and purpose and life is empty without it. Three, if you are lucky enough to find love, remember it is there and don’t throw it away.”

This article originally appeared on 01.24.19

Social media spats usually end in ugly words or blocking people—unless you’re Patton Oswalt.

Actor and comedian Patton Oswalt has made a name for himself off screen as a blunt yet caring, compassionate human. His raw openness after his wife’s unexpected passing and his willingness to engage in conversations about depression and dadhood after her death has touched people’s hearts and opened people’s minds.

And once again on Twitter, Oswalt has proven that he is unquestionably one of the most kind-hearted dudes in Hollywood.

Oswalt shared that a man who attacked him on Twitter needed help, then encouraged people to help him.

Twitter user Michael Beatty had replied to Oswalt’s response to one of Trump’s tweet with “I just realized why I was so happy you died in Blade Trinity!” and “And you shoot basketball ike [sic] the sawed off little man you are.”

Rather than let endless insults fly back and forth until someone finally gave up, as is Twitter tradition, Oswalt dug a bit deeper and came up with this gem:

Aw, man. This dude just attacked me on Twitter and I joked back but then I looked at his timeline and he’s in a LOT… https://t.co/FzyA6732eD

— Patton Oswalt (@Patton Oswalt)
1548353035

“Aw, man,” he wrote. “This dude just attacked me on Twitter and I joked back but then I looked at his timeline and he’s in a LOT of trouble health-wise. I’d be pissed off too. He’s been dealt some shitty cards — let’s deal him some good ones. Click and donate — just like I’m about to.”

Beatty, a Vietnam veteran, had shared a GoFundMe describing a recent, harrowing two-week hospitalization battling sepsis, a potentially fatal blood infection, and struggles in managing his diabetes throughout. When Oswalt saw the link, he shared it with his followers and encouraged people to donate to this man who’d had nothing but nasty things to say to him.

Oswalt donated $2000 himself toward the man’s $5000 goal. A mere few hours later, his followers pushed it over $12,000.

As of the writing of this article, the GoFundMe has raised almost $13,000. Beatty responded with a humble, sincere message for Oswalt:

@pattonoswalt Patton. You have humbled me to the point where I can barely compose my words. You have caused me to t… https://t.co/r0BxQrTnUY

— Michael Beatty (@Michael Beatty)
1548354932

“Patton,” he wrote. “You have humbled me to the point where I can barely compose my words. You have caused me to take pause and reflect on how harmful words from my mouth could result in such an outpouring. Thank you for this and I will pass this on to my cousin who needs help. A cascade.”

Beatty followed that up with another tweet thanking everyone who donated:

I want to thank everyone who came to my aid with generous outpourings- and also to @pattonoswalt without whom I wou… https://t.co/rtdeDyLmLj

— Michael Beatty (@Michael Beatty)
1548356028

People have responded to Oswalt’s kindness and Beatty’s response with hope that such actions may change people’s hearts.

And Oswalt, always the jokester, responded to Beatty’s Tweet with sarcastic humor.

See, THIS is why compassion and forgiveness are the best — wait, you CRIED?!? You fuckin’ pussy! Donation CANCELLED. https://t.co/NkgNb6tmG5

— Patton Oswalt (@Patton Oswalt)
1548357121

Keep up the awesome humaning, Patton Oswalt. We need more of you in the world.

A couple of days ago, producer Hitmaka made a blatantly sexist tweet: “Can’t wait to work with a pretty female rapper that’s strictly about bars to even the playing field,” he wrote. “Pussy rap was cool when it had shock value & was rare. Now it’s like every girl taking it there. It’s sum who aren’t but they need a hit producer 4 impact.” He’s been getting torn to shreds in the quote-tweets and Baby Tate is joining in on the fun.

In a successful effort to prove Hitmaka wrong, Tate shared a video of her rapping a flawless flow about misogyny in the rap world. It’s not without straightforward jabs: “You probably couldn’t pull a b*tch / Even if the b*tch was a service dog.” She also calls him out by name with the clever line: “Makahit for yourself.” It ends with a scratching closer: “Can you tell me why you’re talking all this sh*t when your biggest recent hit was ‘Thot Box’?”

Of course the clip of this rap immediately went viral and had rap fans tearing Hitmaka to shreds again for his statement. People who weren’t even fans of her before are officially converting. We think it’s safe to say she won.

Baby Tate is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Things are a bit chaotic over at Warner Bros. Discovery these days, and that includes the DCEU. The comics film and TV wing have two new bosses, James Gunn and Peter Safran, and they’re making some bold choices about its future. Black Adam 2? Probably not happening, though Dwayne Johnson’s character may stick around. Jason Momoa? May be reassigned to a new character. Henry Cavill? Out as Superman, but he’ll probably stick around to. Now it sounds like the same may — or may not! — happen the franchise’s once-resident Wonder Woman.

As caught by Entertainment Weekly, someone commented on a post Gunn made on Instagram Monday, where he basically told his rudest critics where to go. He did reply to at least one of them. Someone complained about “the move to boot Cavill and Gadot,” which “doesn’t inspire confidence” in the future of the DCEU.

Gunn replied, cryptically, “I’m not sure where you’re getting that we ‘booted’ Gal.”

Does that mean Wonder Woman will return? Or will Gadot be treated like Cavill and Momoa and Johnson, which is to say that they’ll be around, one way or another? All should be clear early next year, when Gunn and Safran lay out their grand, ambitious plan for the franchise’s future. Till then, as Gunn has pointed out, there’s no use in leaving him rude messages on social media because he’ll just ignore them.

(Via EW)

No wonder why SZA waited so long to put out her new album — she deals with a lot of bullsh*t. She recently had to point out how many songs on S.O.S. aren’t sad so people would stop writing off the LP as “sad girl music.” Now, she’s explaining herself again because haters are criticizing the content of her lyrics.

On Twitter, the singer wrote, “Sos is me singing about relationships from 6 years ago . Ctrl was about relationships from high school n college . Reflection is a part of growth . Reflection is good .”

It’s unfortunately not a surprise that her ruminating on past relationships is receiving unwarranted criticism; female musicians are constantly attacked for writing about relationships, something men rarely or never have to deal with. Many (men) have accused her of being “toxic,” when really they should just be grateful that SZA was so vulnerable and transparent with the world on this record.

The good news is that S.O.S. is getting a loving reception from those who are actually her fans, despite her previous worry that they would hate it. “I never thought in a million years that people would like it,” she said on a recent podcast. “My dad’s visiting right now, with my mom. Everybody came down to make sure I didn’t lose my mind if the album went bad once it came out. And now we’re just hanging out, ’cause it didn’t go badly!”

No wonder why SZA waited so long to put out her new album — she deals with a lot of bullsh*t. She recently had to point out how many songs on S.O.S. aren’t sad so people would stop writing off the LP as “sad girl music.” Now, she’s explaining herself again because haters are criticizing the content of her lyrics.

On Twitter, the singer wrote, “Sos is me singing about relationships from 6 years ago . Ctrl was about relationships from high school n college . Reflection is a part of growth . Reflection is good .”

It’s unfortunately not a surprise that her ruminating on past relationships is receiving unwarranted criticism; female musicians are constantly attacked for writing about relationships, something men rarely or never have to deal with. Many (men) have accused her of being “toxic,” when really they should just be grateful that SZA was so vulnerable and transparent with the world on this record.

The good news is that S.O.S. is getting a loving reception from those who are actually her fans, despite her previous worry that they would hate it. “I never thought in a million years that people would like it,” she said on a recent podcast. “My dad’s visiting right now, with my mom. Everybody came down to make sure I didn’t lose my mind if the album went bad once it came out. And now we’re just hanging out, ’cause it didn’t go badly!”

Lil Wayne just recently made headlines for bringing A Very Weezy Christmas to a New Orleans’ Dave & Busters for kids. However, now he’s in the news for some not-great reasons after TMZ obtained some documents from his former chef.

Morghan Medlock, who was the rapper’s personal chef for almost two years, alleges that she was fired after having to leave him in Las Vegas because her 10-year-old was being hospitalized for a head injury. When flying back to Los Angeles, she says Wayne and others in his crew were delaying the flight by smoking. So instead she got her own flight and informed his assistant. She says Wayne kept asking if she was quitting and she would answer that she was not. When she came back, their treatment of her was different. Someone on the team sent her an “ungraceful message” before Wayne said, “Tell Chef Morghan this isn’t going to work.” She’s suing for wrongful termination, retaliation, and a number of unlawful practices, and is asking for at least $500,000

Wayne smoking on a plane is not unimaginable. Once Machine Gun Kelly recalled watching him smoke 15 blunts while they were in the studio: “I pressed play on the song, he’s like, ‘Is that what we’re doing?’ ‘Yeah.’ He’s like, ‘Alright. You guys got time?’ ‘Yeah, for sure.’ He goes in the courtyard, smokes 15 blunts.”

Lil Wayne just recently made headlines for bringing A Very Weezy Christmas to a New Orleans’ Dave & Busters for kids. However, now he’s in the news for some not-great reasons after TMZ obtained some documents from his former chef.

Morghan Medlock, who was the rapper’s personal chef for almost two years, alleges that she was fired after having to leave him in Las Vegas because her 10-year-old was being hospitalized for a head injury. When flying back to Los Angeles, she says Wayne and others in his crew were delaying the flight by smoking. So instead she got her own flight and informed his assistant. She says Wayne kept asking if she was quitting and she would answer that she was not. When she came back, their treatment of her was different. Someone on the team sent her an “ungraceful message” before Wayne said, “Tell Chef Morghan this isn’t going to work.” She’s suing for wrongful termination, retaliation, and a number of unlawful practices, and is asking for at least $500,000

Wayne smoking on a plane is not unimaginable. Once Machine Gun Kelly recalled watching him smoke 15 blunts while they were in the studio: “I pressed play on the song, he’s like, ‘Is that what we’re doing?’ ‘Yeah.’ He’s like, ‘Alright. You guys got time?’ ‘Yeah, for sure.’ He goes in the courtyard, smokes 15 blunts.”

It’s been a year of comically short tenures. Liz Truss spent 45 thrilling days as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Elon Musk may last only a bit longer as CEO of Twitter. The Tesla and SpaceX honcho purchased the social media giant for an appalling amount of money, and he instantly left his mark. A month and a half later he may be leaving, after holding a poll in which voters overwhelmingly voted for him to step down. Unlike some people, he may actually acknowledge voters’ wishes — with a catch, of course. But his news promoted yet another round of jokes, including from another older king of social media.

On Tuesday night, nearly two days after the poll closed, Musk announced he would follow through on his promise to leave if asked. “I will resign as CEO, he wrote, “as soon as I find someone foolish enough to take the job! After that, I will just run the software & servers teams.”

It’s a vague promise, laced with his usual attempts at humor. Then again, there’s such a low bar when it comes to people honoring voters’ wishes that this is almost heroic. Almost.

Since the possibility of Musk actually stepping down as Twitter CEO was raised, some have had jokey suggestions on who should replace him. One of them was Tom Anderson, one of the co-founders of Myspace, the world’s first global social media service. Anderson wasn’t like Musk. Apart from forcing everyone to be his friend — and therefore having his picture on their wall — he knew well enough to leave everyone alone.

Musk launched the poll on Sunday after he’d already been on a roll. After a week of briefly suspending journalists he didn’t like, he spent the weekend briefly suspending another one then and enacting an instantly infamous new rule that banned people from linking to rival social media accounts. His antics have proven unpopular with many users as well as his investors. He’s instead cozied up to far right extremists. In other words, he’s alienating people who would buy his electric cars and embraced those who never would.

Anyway, if this is the end of the Musk era of Twitter