Kelly Donohue ended a three-game “Jeopardy!” winning streak Tuesday night, leaving him with an impressive $80,601 in cash. But his performances have set off a social media firestorm because of two instances that some claimed were racist signals.
The situation inspired an open letter addressing the issue signed by over 500 former “Jeopardy!” contestants.
Throughout Donoahue’s brief run on the show, he signaled the number of games he won through hand gestures. After his first win last Friday, he held up one finger and after his Monday victory, he held up two. That was all fine and good. But it was after his third victory that things got complicated.
On Tuesday, he held up three fingers and it caused a lot of discussion on social media.
@andersoncooper did you notice contestant Kelly Donohue flash the white power sign on the show tonight??? #jeopardy https://t.co/Nw7mbRjMkw
— West Law Firm | Nyasha West (@NWestEsq) 1619567223.0
The three-finger symbol he made resembles the “okay” sign, a gesture that was officially designated as a hate symbol by the Anti-Defamation League in 2019. The gesture is similar to one used by the white supremacist group the Three Percenters and the Proud Boys.
But it’s also how a lot of people make a number three with their hands.
The group of former contestants didn’t see it as a clear-cut symbol for the number three. “He held his thumb and forefinger together with his other three fingers extended and palm facing inward, and he tapped his chest,” the open letter says.
“This, whether intentional or not, resembled very closely a gesture that has been coopted by white power groups, alt right groups, and an anti-government group that calls itself the Three Percenters,” the letter continued.
“Stand Back and Stand By”
Roger Stone with the White Supremacist Proud Boys, putting up the “OK hand symbol”. (Sar… https://t.co/dGQE6JGfU3
Donohue also courted controversy during his Monday performance by using the term “Gypsy” to refer to Roma people. “The use of this term doesn’t necessarily indicate malice; until recently, it was widely used by English speakers,” the letter reads. “Current diversity style guides, however, suggest that it not be used, and that Roma or Romani be used instead. Host Anderson Cooper noted this on-air.”
The group of former contestants couldn’t believe that both incidents made it on air because, in the past, “Jeopardy!” producers have edited or reshot moments from the show that could cause controversy.
Donohue’s first response to allegations that this three symbol was a hate gesture was pretty clear.
“That’s a 3. No more. No less,” he wrote on Facebook. But his statement wasn’t enough for the former contestants who urged him to provide an “an apology and a total disavowal of any connection to white supremacist doctrines is called for.”
So Donahue responded with a powerful post on Facebook where he clearly condemned white supremacy.
I’m truly horrified with what has been posted about me on social media. I absolutely, unequivocally condemn white supremacy and racism of any kind. People who know me personally know that I am not a racist, but for the public at large it bears repeating: I am not a racist and I reject and condemn white supremacy and all forms of bigotry for the evil they are.
I’m truly horrified with what has been posted about me on social media. I absolutely, unequivocally condemn white supremacy and racism of any kind. People who know me personally know that I am not a racist, but for the public at large it bears repeating: I am not a racist and I reject and condemn white supremacy and all forms of bigotry for the evil they are. It’s shameful to me to think anyone would try to use the stage of Jeopardy! to advance or promote such a disgusting agenda. During the taping of my fourth episode, I was simply raising three fingers to mark my 3rd win. There was nothing more I was trying to indicate.
I deeply regret this terrible misunderstanding. I never meant to hurt a soul and I assure you I am no friend of racists or white supremacists.
I removed the previous post because the comments were more than I could bear. I stand by the statement itself and you can find it reported in other media. I did, however, understand the fair criticism that I did not include a forceful condemnation of white supremacy in my initial statement. I hope my feelings on that matter are clear now.
Donohue’s story shows that there is so much tension around race in America that it’s pretty easy for someone to accidentally find themselves in hot water. Most people probably aren’t that well-versed in white supremacist hand gestures or slurs for Romani people, so it’s pretty easy to assume that Donohue walked into the situation unknowingly.
While the former “Jeopardy!” contestants saw Donohue’s performance as an opportunity to demand an apology from him, that may not have been the best way to handle things. In a situation where things are pretty nebulous, why not take the opportunity to educate the general public on racist slurs and hand gestures instead of making it personal? Their false accusation could have unfairly destroyed Donohue’s life and the unjust impact their letter will have on him is still yet to be determined. Wouldn’t it be nice if they responded to his thoughtful statement with a diplomatic statement of their own and show all of us how to have a meaningful dialogue?
It’s been over 20 years since the release of the original Pokemon Snap, and never has it been more apparent just how much time has passed as when players bump into New Pokemon Snap’s huge cameo: original Pokemon photographer Todd Snap.
For those who have played the classic Nintendo 64 title, you might recognize Todd as, well, you. Back in the original game, players took on the role of the budding photographer, guiding him on various expeditions as he cataloged Pokemon for Professor Oak. Back in 1999, Todd was the same age as presumably the bulk of the Pokemon fanbase, new to double digits and mere moments away from raging hormones.
However, in New Pokemon Snap, Todd is now a fully-grown man and world-famous Pokemon photographer who has come to the Lental region to assist Professor Mirror in his efforts to learn more about wild Pokemon. A key part of this endeavor is taking on the role of mentor to the new generation of Pokemon photographers: your rival, Phil, and you. In addition to helping you improve your skills behind the lens, Todd provides players with Research Requests that unlock stickers you can use to decorate your photographs before sharing them with the world.
You can catch Todd, and ’em all on film, in the newest Pokemon title New Pokemon Snap, out today on Nintendo Switch.
Taika Waititi is known across the Marvel Cinematic Universe for his Thor movies, sure, but outside of it, he’s also known for popping up in on-camera roles in projects he’s manning behind the scenes. And according to a new report, Waititi has decided the best person to play the legendary pirate Blackbeard in an upcoming HBO project he’s producing is, well, himself. Tough to argue with the logic there, honestly.
The Thor: Ragnarok director is apparently pulling double duty for Our Flag Means Death, a project centering on a pirate played by Rhys Darby. According to Variety, the JoJo Rabbit director will officially step in as Blackbeard, who will show up in the comedy at some point.
It was previously announced that Waititi would executive produce and direct the pilot for “Our Flag Means Death” when the show was ordered to series in September 2020. The show is loosely based on the true adventures of Stede Bonnet (Darby), a pampered aristocrat who abandoned his life of privilege to become a pirate.
“Our Blackbeard is a legend, a lover, a fighter, a tactical genius, a poetic soul, and quite possibly insane,” said series creator David Jenkins. “Only one man could play this role, and that is the great Taika Waititi. We’re thrilled beyond measure he’s decided to don the beard.”
It’s not exactly a stretch for Waititi to play a notable figure from history in a comedic way. In the lovely JoJo Rabbit, for example, a film for which he took home a Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar, he also portrayed a surprisingly funny version of Adolf Hitler. Compared to that role, all things considered, humanizing Blackbeard should be a breeze.
It’s been a while since we’ve seen Warpaint: Their latest album, Heads Up, was released in 2016. Now, though, the group is back with “Lilys,” their first new material in half a decade. The track features on the new HBO series Made For Love and it’s a moody synth-driven track that’s a natural progression for the band as we last heard them.
The band’s Theresa “TT” Wayman spoke about the song with NME, saying:
“The HBO show wanted to use it and so that made us finish it faster, and then the label heard it and were like, ‘Actually, we want to put this out, not just have it be on the show’. It wasn’t like we started writing our album and were like, ‘OK, this song is going to be the one we come out with,’ but I’m happy that it’s the one leading the way. The song is asserting itself. […] It’s one of those ones that came out of the woodwork and showed itself. We weren’t digging for it. We threw together this rough edit of an arrangement and that worked. Our manager and our co-producer [Sam Petts-Davies] for the album heard it and were like, ‘There’s something in this.’ Once they started shining a light on it, I tried some vocals and those came out really quickly and the lyrics fell together really quickly. It felt really good.”
She also discussed the band’s next album, which is current expected to come out in the spring of 2022. She said of the recording process:
“We got really lucky because the foundation of what we’ve recorded was recorded together. It would feel really disjointed if we had to write it from scratch from afar. It’s actually been amazing that we’ve been separate and had time to record the top layers and we can get even more considered with them. It’s really helping us that there are no time pressures and money constraints. […] I’ve been thinking a lot about lyrics and so I’ve been thinking about [Bob] Dylan a lot and how he strings a story together. He finds these perfect ways to say something that is so normal, it’s something that everyone experiences, but he unlocks this great metaphor for it.”
Don’t get us wrong, Jordan is still the biggest name in footwear. And when a hot new sneaker designer bursts onto the scene, best believe they’re going to want to put their spin on a fresh pair of Jordans above all else, so we don’t imagine another name is going to surpass it anytime soon. But big names are coming (relatively) close, and none of them are known for their skills on a court.
We’re talking not about performance shoes but “performer shoes” (a term dubbed by DJ Clark Kent) — made by people like Kanye West, who has now realized his dream of making a pivot from the hottest rapper in the game to the hottest sneaker and streetwear designer with his Yeezy Brand; Pharrel Williams, who has been toiling away at Adidas for a minute now with his Hu line; J Cole who seems to be constantly pumping out Pumas and actually has the hoops skills to bring in ballers; Bad Bunny, who — despite starting it all off with a few Crocs — is now two for two with his Adidas collaborations; and Beyonce, who continues to make tremendous leaps with each drop of her Ivy Park line.
It’s undeniable that, save for Virgil Abloh and Aleali May, the most exciting sneakers to drop right now are coming from the world of hip-hop. And no name is more exciting than La Flame — yes, we’re talking about Mr. Cactus Jack himself, Travis Scott. Together in partnership with Helmut Lang, Nike, and Jordan Brand, Scott has been dropping some of the most hyped sneaker releases of our modern era of streetwear, offering remixed designs of the aforementioned brand’s most popular silhouettes draped in Scott’s signature dusty desert aesthetic and vibe.
Over the last three years, Scott has dropped 14 sneakers and today we’re here to rank every single one of them from worst to best. Let’s dive in.
15. Travis Scott Jordan XXXIII Army Olive
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Amongst fans of Scott’s sneaker collaborations, these are absolutely hated. It’s easy to see why. I mean… look at ’em!
Some people feel that hate is overkill, arguing that these are slept on but they still deserve their spot at the bottom of this list. It’s not simply that they’re bad — this army olive mesh upper and brown suede heel panel is a pretty solid design for the XXXIIIs and pretty emblematic of the looks to come — but it’s just so boring in comparison to everything else Scott has done with Nike.
It feels mean to place any Scott shoe dead last, but it’s hard to argue that this is better than any of the other shoes on this list.
Find the Travis Scott Jordan XXXIII Army Olive at GOAT.
14. Travis Scott x Helmut Lang Low Top
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Before Travis Scott started lending his aesthetic to classic Nike and Jordan silhouettes, he linked up with Italian designer Helmut Lang for a sleek all-black high-top and low-top sneaker. The Helmut Lang collaborations are soft of an anomaly in the lineage of Travis Scott sneakers, but looking at it does make us wonder what the Cactus Jack label would’ve looked like if it never linked up with Nike. Thank God it did!
Featuring a nylon upper with leather and velcro straps across the heel and upper, the Travis Scott x Helmut Lang was made in Italy and features graphic bull imagery on the tongue and Helmut Lang branding on the heel tab.
It’s… okay. Just that and nothing more. Definitely a step up from the XXXIII, though.
The Travis Scott x Helmut Lang Low Top is currently unavailable on the aftermarket.
13. Travis Scott x Playstation Nike Dunk Low
Nike
Originally, we ranked this one last. It’s a three-way collaboration that coincided with the release of the Playstation 5, which just felt like tacky branded overkill. But the more we look at the design — which is actually kind of dope and borrows from the OG Playstation’s look for its colorway — the more it grows on us. This one is certainly a grower.
We still don’t like the Sony branding on the heel (Playstation logo can stay) but we can’t sit here and pretend that the Jordan XXXIII is somehow better than this sail and light blue upper, with its charcoal grey reverse swoosh and embroidered branding.
Find the Travis Scott x Playstation Nike Dunk Low at StockX.
12. Travis Scott Nike Air Max 270 React Cactus Trails
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You’ll notice that Scott has a definite preference for Nike’s more retro silhouettes, so the Air Max 270 Cactus Trails is unique in that this is one of the most futuristic-looking Cactus Jack sneakers released yet, thanks to the aerodynamic design of the 270. It’s ironic that it’s also the most artificially aged, with a yellowed midsole and a messy mix of textile, nubuck, and TPU Overlays over a dirty cream colorway.
It really earns its moniker “Cactus Trails,” this is a grimy, dusty mess of a design.
Find the Travis Scott Nike Air Max 270 React Cactus Trails at GOAT.
11. Travis Scott Nike Air Force 1 Low White
StockX
Travis Scott’s long and fruitful collaboration with Nike begins with this take on the Air Force 1. Released in celebration of the 35th anniversary of the silhouette, this white canvas take on the AF-1 dropped at ComplexCon 2017 and featured interchangeable removable swooshes that were meant to evoke Scott’s trademark grill.
The laces have a Cactus Jack logo covering them and the whole thing sits atop a contrasting gum sole. It’s perhaps most notable for looking so different than the designs that would come to define Scott’s work with Nike.
Find the Travis Scott Nike Air Force 1 Low White at StockX.
10. Travis Scott x Helmut Lang High Top
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The High Top version of Scott’s Helmut Lang sneaker is a massive improvement over the low. This may be the last time this particular sneaker stays in the top 10 as Scott and Nike have a bunch of rumored releases planned for Holiday 2021. Enjoy your spot, Helmut Lang Highs!
Featuring the same nylon upper with leather paneling and straps as the low, the Helmut Lang high tops are super sleek, militaristic, and represent a Travis Scott era that feels like a distant memory. Not much to say about these that we haven’t said already with the low tops, this is just an all-around better design.
The Travis Scott x Helmut Lang High Top is currently unavailable on the aftermarket.
9. Travis Scott Nike Air Force 1 Low Cactus Jack
GOAT
The Cactus Jack Air Force 1 has always had a Sean Wotherspoon vibe to us. We know what you’re thinking, “WHY BECAUSE IT HAS CORDUROY???” Yup, that’s exactly why. Do you really think this zipped corduroy lace shroud would exist without Wotherspoon’s Air Max 97, which dropped two years earlier? You’re tripping. Wotherspoon MADE corduroy.
The AF1 Cactus Jack features a graphic canvas upper, a brown swoosh on the outer, a black swoosh on the inner, and sits atop a gum outsole. It’s a dope design, but it’s just a little too busy. A comfortable mid-tier release by Scott.
Find the Travis Scott Nike Air Force 1 Low Cactus Jack at GOAT.
8 . Travis Scott Jordan 1 Retro Low Mocha
StockX
This low-top version of the Jordan I borrows the design of the more iconic high-top version with a mocha and black nubuck leather upper and that polarizing backward swoosh on the lateral side. The backward swoosh actually looks bigger here (it’s not) making the sneaker look unlike a Jordan I, that’s kind of cool. The medial side panel features Cactus Jack lining in university red, making another appearance on the tongue, with the Air Jordan Wings on the heel tab.
This is pleasant and middling. Perfectly functional but not going to make a huge scene.
Find the Travis Scott Jordan 1 Retro Low Mocha at GOAT.
7. Travis Scott Nike Air Force 1 Low Sail
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This Sail colorway of the Air Force 1 was Scott’s second release with Nike and built upon the all-white colorway that preceded it. The canvas upper and removable shiny swoosh is still here, but this Sail colorway just works so much better with the gum outsole and canvas construction. It feels like a true transitional sneaker between Scott’s first Nike drop to the more earthy and worn designs that would come to define the Cactus Jack aesthetic.
Find the Travis Scott Nike Air Force 1 Low Sail at GOAT.
6. Travis Scott Jordan 4 Retro Purple (Friends and Family Release)
StockX
We considered not even including this sneaker, as it’s a close friend and family-only release and never had a retail release, but it’s just too clean to ignore. It’s also currently available at StockX, which means someone isn’t being a good friend (we wouldn’t have done you like that, Travis!). This moody Jordan IV features a suede upper in a deep purple with black accents and a grey lace cage.
It’s easily one of the best colorways we’ve ever seen of the Jordan IV period, it’s almost cruel this wasn’t released to the public. Scott has a few more friends and family colorways, but none reach this level of perfection, which makes the StockX sale sting even more.
Find the Travis Scott Jordan 4 Retro Purple Suede at StockX.
5. Travis Scott Nike SB Dunk Low Cactus Jack
GOAT
This is a totally personal take, but this pair brings up a lot of nostalgia for me. The bandana-inspired paisley overlays capture so much of the imagery of growing up in and around East LA. This sneaker looks like my childhood, filtered down into a shoe.
The SB Dunk Low Cactus Jack is significant because it’s Scott’s first skate sneaker, utilizing Nike’s ridiculously popular silhouette, dressing it in a tan leather base with plaid quarter panels, paisley overlays, and canvas that tears away to reveal an earthy camo pattern that kind of resembles Nike’s elephant print (but isn’t quite that).
The design is rounded out by thick rope laces, the whole thing really captures Scott’s Cactus Jack aesthetic — muted, yet psychedelic. Scott and Nike have a whole slate of Dunks that are supposed to drop in late 2021, we’ll see if they can match this take.
Find the Travis Scott Nike SB Dunk Low Premium QS at GOAT.
4. Travis Scott Jordan 6 Retro Olive
StockX
Released at the end of 2019, the Jordan VI features an almost militaristic olive green nubuck and suede upper with a little stash snap pocket on the outer collar. At the time of release, it felt like this was the perfect music festival sneaker to hide your stash in. The idea of going to a concert still seems novel, and this is the second time we’re ranking Scott’s whole sneaker output. Another handful of Travis Scott sneakers will likely drop before we are able to see the rapper perform live again. That’s just sad.
Scott rocked this colorway at the Super Bowl 53 halftime show, leading to its coveted status amongst sneakerheads and Travis Scott fans alike. The design is rounded out by a glow-in-the-dark translucent outsole with sail and university red accent work. Scott has yet to drop something that tops this design since its debut release.
Are the little pockets and zippers stupid and gimmicky? Yes. But forced utility aside, the British Khaki Jordan 6, Scott’s first sneaker of 2021, is in every way an improvement over 2019’s Olive colorway, which it clearly builds off of. Featuring a suede and canvas upper dusted in a mix of British Khaki and Sail, it’s the Bright Crimson accents on the heel, tongue, and branding that really pull this design together.
On top of this earthy colorway, a glow-in-the-dark sole and heel tab adds a nice psychedelic edge to the look, while seamlessly blending in with the rest of the design, never dipping into gimmicky territory, despite you know, being glow in the dark.
Find the Travis Scott Jordan 6 Retro British Khaki at GOAT.
2. Travis Scott Jordan 4 Retro Cactus Jack
StockX
There were several times I came close to ranking this as the number one pick, and while ultimately I contend that it’s probably (probably!) not the best Travis Scott sneaker out there, it is my personal favorite. This use of Nike’s university red and blue here is just beautiful, with its blue Durabuck leather upper and a red collar and insole. Inspired by the Houston Oilers, Scott’s hometown team, the Cactus Jack Jordan IV’s are rounded out by a core black lace cage and heel panel with university blue speckles, and feature Cactus Jack and Jumpman branding on the left and right heel respectively.
I’m already regretting not giving it the number one slot, but not enough to bump it up… yet.
Find the Travis Scott Jordan 4 Retro Cactus Jack at GOAT.
1. Travis Scott Jordan 1 Retro High Mocha
GOAT
It feels almost cliche to rank the Mocha Jordan I Retro High as Scott’s best, but this sneaker release has managed to become emblematic of Cactus Jack as a fashion entity now three years after its original release. The large over-sized backward swoosh looks very gimmicky by today’s standards (though we don’t know that it didn’t always) but that mix of mocha suede paneling again a sail leather upper with university red accents is still one of the silhouette’s best colorways.
Since this insanely popular drop, Nike has since borrowed this same exact color scheme for a stock Air Jordan I, which we actually prefer, since it doesn’t have the backward swoosh. But hey, that’s just us.
Find the at Travis Scott Jordan 1 Retro High at GOAT.
Sometimes good 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 hottest R&B jams that fans of the genre should hear every Friday.
This week, Shelley makes his long-awaited return with Shelley FKA DRAM, a ten-track effort that signals the start of a new chapter in his career. Justine Skye also prepares her upcoming Twisted Fantasy album with its title track and Trevor Jackson boosts The Love Language, his album that dropped last month, with a comical new video.
Shelley — Shelley FKA DRAM
While his name may have changed, Virginia’s Shelley — fka DRAM — still produces music at a high level. After staying low for most of 2020, he returns with his latest album, Shelley FKA DRAM. The project delivers a very digestible ten tracks for listeners with features from Summer Walker, HER, Watt, and Erykah Badu. He also held an NPR Tiny Desk concert prior to the album’s release, his second one since 2017, in a moment he called “a new beginning. Full circle.”
Justine Skye — “Twisted Fantasy” Feat. Rema
Last summer, Justine Skye dropped her impressive album, Bare With Me, and now the singer will impact this year’s summer with another body of work. The forthcoming project is titled Twisted Fantasy and while we’ll have to wait until June 25 to get it, she dropped its title track today for fans to enjoy. Accompanied by Nigerian afro-fusion singer Rema, Skye’s new single is led by gloomy island production and the singer’s tale of a struggling love despite enjoyable moments of intimacy
Trevor Jackson — “Your Everything”
From acting and singing to dancing and directing, Trevor Jackson does it all, but if you found that hard to believe, the multifaceted act showcases his many talents in a new video for “Your Everything.” In its opening scene, Jackson plays a mailman who stumbles upon a woman exiting her partner’s home after an argument. It’s here where The Love Language singer decides to place himself all through the woman’s life in hopes of quickly landing her attention. Jackson plays everything in her life including a taxi driver, purse-snatcher, cop, and her relatives.
Mereba — “Rider”
It’s been a little over a year since Mereba dropped her debut album, The Jungle Is The Only Way Out. While the wait for her sophomore effort continues, she’s been far from quiet over the past few months. She joined her Spillage Village collective for their Spilligion album last year and now, she’s back with her first single of the year, a groovy number titled “Rider.” Here, Mereba is deep in love and committed to showing a new side of herself in the relationship.
Kyle Dion — “Purr” Feat. Kari Faux
When it comes to relationships, some people would prefer to leave any drama and toxicity out of it, but for Kyle Dion and Kari Faux, it’s something they’ve deemed necessary for their love lives. Rather than pillow talk, Dion wants to pillow fight and indulge in all the messes that most look to avoid with their partner. Paired with a guest verse from Kari Faux, it’s clear that Dion is not alone in his drama-filled world.
Maeta — Habits
After going on Do Not Disturb with her 2019 EP, Indianapolis native Maeta is back to detail her Habits on her latest project. The project blends genres throughout its seven songs, with lyrics detailing the often complicated youth experiences she and her peers go though. It also sports guest appearances from Buddy, Beam, and Leven Kali.
Rochelle Jordan — Play With Changes
Almost seven years have gone by since Rochelle Jordan last graced the world with a project, the last being 2014’s 1021. Moving back to the present, Jordan has finally delivered new music to her fans with her new album, Play With Changes. 12 songs present category-breaking artistry as it combines hip-hop and dance in a one of a kind way.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
A wave of anti-transgender bills have been making their way through state legislatures the past few months, with more than a dozen states proposing bans on transgender athletes competing in girls’ sports.
The issue of trans people in athletics is a bit of a tricky one on paper. In actual reality, though, it’s not.
The justification for banning trans girls from playing sports with cisgender girls is hormones and build. The theory goes that a trans girl has a biological advantage over non-trans girls because they have higher testosterone levels, larger muscle mass, etc.
Besides the fact that physical makeup and athleticism varies greatly among individuals for hundreds of reasons besides sex, this theory that trans athletes are a threat to cisgender athletes appears to be a problem largely manufactured in people’s minds and not backed up by evidence.
Transgender women have been competing in sports for a long time at the professional level and have never dominated in any professional field. They don’t even dominate in non-professional sports. Proponents of these bills point to one case in Connecticut where two transgender runners won regularly in track competitions, but that’s pretty much the only example anyone across the entire country can name. Yes, trans women might actually win some competitions sometimes. But that doesn’t mean there’s a widespread issue of unfair athletic advantage.
In fact, MSBNC’s Stephanie Ruhle asked West Virginia governor Jim Justice to cite a single example of a trans child with an unfair advantage from his own state, where he just signed a bill banning trans athletes from competing in girls’ sports at “any public secondary school or state institution of higher education.”
“Can you name one example of a transgender child trying to gain an unfair competitive advantage at a school there in West Virginia?” she asked.
He couldn’t. He said he had been a girls’ basketball coach and that boys had an “absolute advantage” playing against girls. However, he couldn’t cite a single instance of that actually happening in his state.
Ruhle then questioned why he felt this bill was worth taking time on in a state that ranks in the bottom five in the country for education, health care, economy, and infrastructure.
“If you cannot name one single example of a child doing this, why would you make this a priority?” she asked.
Watch:
Watch @SRuhle press West Virginia Gov Jim Justice on the anti transgender bill he just signed:
Her wrap-up said it all. “Sir, thank you. And please come back when, beyond anecdotal feelings as a coach, you can show me evidence where those young women are being disadvantaged.”
It’s hard to argue that transgender sports bans are vital pieces of legislation when most people would be hard-pressed to even name a transgender athlete, much less a trans athlete who is raking in all the medals.
Speaking of raking in medals and having an unfair advantage, should we talk about how Michael Phelps’s body is perfectly designed to dominate in swimming? Should he be asked not to compete because his biology—his short legs, long arms, and broad shoulders—give him a clear advantage over other swimmers? What about the fact that his chest is hyper-jointed and his double-jointed ankles flex 15% more than his competitors? Aren’t those biological advantages that make it hard for other swimmers to compete against him?
But we’re talking about general biological differences between males and females here, which is why we have men’s and women’s sports. Sure. But again, trans girls are simply not dominating women’s sports, and they’ve been competing in them for a long time. So this legislation is a solution to a problem that doesn’t seem to exist.
According to Dr. Eric Vilain, a pediatrician and geneticist who studies sex differences in athletes, hormonal differences are not a good faith reason to ban trans girls from high school sports anyway. As he told NPR:
“We know that men have, on average, an advantage in performance in athletics of about 10% to 12% over women, which the sports authorities have attributed to differences in levels of a male hormone called testosterone. But the question is whether there is in real life, during actual competitions, an advantage of performance linked to this male hormone and whether trans athletes are systematically winning all competitions. The answer to this latter question, are trans athletes winning everything, is simple — that’s not the case. And higher levels of the male hormone testosterone are associated with better performance only in a very small number of athletic disciplines: 400 meters, 800 meters, hammer throw, pole vault — and it certainly does not explain the whole 10% difference.
And lastly, I would say that every sport requires different talents and anatomies for success. So I think we should focus on celebrating this diversity, rather than focusing on relative notions of fairness. For example, the body of a marathon runner is extremely different from the body of a shot put champion, and a transwoman athlete may have some advantage on the basketball field because of her height, but would be at a disadvantage in gymnastics. So it’s complicated.”
The categorizing of sports by sex or gender may be somewhat complicated, but the pushing of legislation to flat-out ban trans athletes from sports is not. High school and college sports shouldn’t be purely about besting the competition—they should be about teamwork and comradery, as well as developing perseverance, resilience, and self-discipline. And let’s be real. Most of the people pushing for this legislation aren’t doing so because they’re worried about unfair advantage; they’re doing it because they are uncomfortable with transgender people, period.
Oh, and there’s also this tidbit of info. Governor Justice said there are “only 12 transgender-type kids” in West Virginia, which is 1) ridiculous to say, and 2) begs the question of why they would need an entire bill to address trans girls in sports. According to a study from the Williams Institute, West Virginia actually has the highest percentage of 13 to 17-year-olds who identify as trans in the country. That’s 1,150 teens who identify as trans, just in that age group. (And yet not a single incidence of sports domination he can name to warrant the need for legislation. Go figure.)
More journalists pushing lawmakers to back up bigoted bills with actual evidence, please.
Following Evan Rachel Wood’s decision to name ex-partner Marilyn Manson (born Brian Hugh Warner) as her alleged abuser, February saw at least ten more women come forward to make similar accusations against the singer. One of those women, Game of Thrones actress Esme Bianco (who played Ros during the show’s first three seasons), had previously testified alongside Wood in support of California’s Phoenix Bill (aimed toward lengthening the statute of limitations for crimes involving domestic violence).
Like Wood, Bianco also came forward in February with her own harrowing account (as detailed in a New York Magazine profile) of alleged physical abuse, which she says that Manson committed during a 2011 relationship. In the profile, she accused Manson of terrorizing her (with both emotional and physical abuse that included whipping, cutting, and bruising her, along with depriving her of sleep and food) during the two months that she lived with him. Her claims were corroborated to New York by Manson’s former assistant, Jessica Walters, who went on record with the publication. Bianco has now sued Manson and, in doing so, she has added human trafficking allegations to her list of accusations against the singer.
Granted, there has been word that the L.A. Sheriff’s department was investigating Manson over unspecified allegations, but Bianco’s filing counts as the first official legal action against the singer. Via Rolling Stone, here’s some of the language from the filing:
“Mr. Warner used drugs, force, and threats of force to coerce sexual acts from Ms. Bianco on multiple occasions,” the lawsuit says. “Mr. Warner raped Ms. Bianco in or around May 2011.” It goes on to claim that Warner “committed sexual acts” with Bianco at times when she was unconscious or unable to consent, and lists the ways she claims he sexually battered her: “These acts include spanking, biting, cutting, and whipping Ms. Bianco’s buttocks, breasts, and genitals for Mr. Warner’s sexual gratification — all without the consent of Plaintiff.”
The “human trafficking” part of the filing refers to Bianco’s accusation of how Manson “employed fraud” to convince her to travel to the U.S. under the pretense of casting her in a music video (for his song “I Want to Kill You Like They Do in the Movies”) and a movie that was never filmed. Bianco complaint details how Manson allegedly “inserted himself in her visa process,” and she accuses him of locking her in a bedroom to stop her from leaving his home and forced her to carry out “unpaid labor.” Further, the complaint alleges that “Mr. Warner implied that because he had brought Ms. Bianco to the United States and provided housing, she owed him labor and sexual intimacy,” and he put her on display for his guests to “spank” her at his home.
The lawsuit contains several other disturbing allegations, including how, in 2009, Bianco did enter into a consensual sexual relationship with Manson. However, she accuses him of requiring her “to sit at his feet during press visits” and “verbally degrad[ing] her” before he allegedly “attempted to bring a minor back to the hotel with him and Ms. Bianco.”
In February 2021, Manson came forward with a blanket statement against the mounting allegations against him (prior to Esme coming forward) as “horrible distortions of reality.” He further declared, “My intimate relationships have always been entirely consensual with like-minded partners. Regardless of how – and why – others are now choosing to misrepresent the past, that is the truth.”
In 2019, Bianco tweeted a photo of whip marks on her back in a now-apparent reference to Manson. “This is my back,” she wrote at the time. “The injuries you see are real. The whipping that I got here was filmed in the name of ‘art.’ Despite the many years that have passed since this happened my night terrors and PTSD symptoms continue to get worse. I am a domestic violence survivor and #IAmNotOk.”
For this week’s UPROXX Sessions performance, West Coast troubadour Blxst rolls through Uproxx Studios to bless the mic with a laid-back rendition of his No Love Lost single “Pressure.” Rocking a black-on-black Chinatown Market hoodie and his trademark shades, Blxst coolly slides from casually complex rhymes to mellow crooning as he details the ways he stays on point, no matter the situation he’s faced with.
2020 was a breakout year for Blxst, who spent the five years prior building his name with a string of smooth, standout guest appearances. His frequent collaborators with fellow California stars Mozzy, Bino Rideaux, and more led to a splashy debut with No Love Lost, paying off the buzz he’d built and making him a fixture on Los Angeles sound systems. Releasing his two-song maxi-single Just for Clarity at the top of the year featuring Drakeo The Ruler and Russ, he showed he’s just getting started.
Watch Blxst’s laid-back “Pressure” performance for UPROXX Sessions above.
UPROXX Sessions is Uproxx’s performance show featuring the hottest up-and-coming acts you should keep an eye on. Featuring creative direction from LA promotion collective, Ham On Everything, and taking place on our “bathroom” set designed and painted by Julian Gross,UPROXX Sessionsis a showcase of some of our favorite performers, who just might soon be yours, too.
Earlier this week I ran into a friend I hadn’t seen in awhile (this used to be unremarkable; now it feels like a big deal) and, probably because human contact has been so few and far between over the last year, a lot of topics were discussed. And for the life of me I don’t remember why the situation comedy Alicewas mentioned, but it was. Then I said out loud, “and Alice was based on a Martin Scorsese’s movie,” and the person I was talking to thought I was kidding. Then it hit me that what I just said out loud really does sound fake. Then I started doubting my own words even though I knew they were true.
I had seen parts of Martin Scorsese’s Alice Doesn’t Lie Here Anymore here and there but never all the way through in one sitting, so I rectified that this week. It’s a pretty tremendous movie. And should be a must-watch for those who think Scorsese has never made a movie with a woman as his main character. Ellen Burstyn plays Alice and is really dynamite. But watching the movie when you grew up with the sitcom is really a trip. It almost seems reverse engendered, like Scorsese was a huge fan of the show and decided to make his own version in a very Martin Scorsese way with a lot of zooming and beautiful shots and contemporary rock hits.
Then, the next day, I tweeted something vague about how every Scorsese movie should produce a popular sitcom featuring a live studio audience that runs for nine seasons. And, yes, once again, people thought I was kidding. Because when you say it out loud it sounds fake. And when you watch the movie, there is nothing about it that says, “You know, this should be a sitcom.” At least with something like M*A*S*H, a show based on Robert Altman’s movie of the same name, it makes a bit more sense. Plus the television show wasn’t a multi-camera sitcom filmed in front of a live studio audience. (M*A*S*H did have a laugh track, which in retrospect makes no sense.) And even though M*A*S*H became one of the most popular television series of all time, most people seem to realize it was based on a movie. And having the title be the same for both the movie and the show probably has a lot to do with that, and the fact Gary Burghoff was in both the film and the show as Radar.
But this is also something M*A*S*H has in common with Alice, because one actor is in both the series and the movie: Vic Tayback as Mel Sharpels. And yes, when Mel shows up in the movie, about halfway through, it’s pretty weird. In that you can just tell Tayback has new clue this would become his signature role and that he’d wind up playing Mel for almost a decade.
Actually, it’s not completely true Tayback is the only actor to be a regular on the show. Alfred Lutter, who played Tommy, Alice’s son in the movie (and is probably surprised he’s getting a Google alert today), appeared in the pilot for the show and then was replaced by Philip McKeon. (McKeon’s sister, Nancy, played Jo on The Facts of Life and had a nice little family dynasty going at the time. I always wonder if they felt like the Batemans were their enemies.) I do not know the circumstances why he didn’t get the full-time part, but imagine being good enough for Martin Scorsese, then being told you can’t be on the sitcom as the same character. (Yes, it’s a different type of acting skill, but still.)
But the strangest thing of all about all of this is the case of Diane Ladd. Now, Ladd played Flo in the film, which garnered her an Academy Award nomination. In the television show Flo was played by Polly Holliday (who garnered multiple Emmy nominations for this role and a Golden Globes win)of “kiss my grits” fame. Holliday’s Flo became so popular that her character was given her own sitcom (which only lasted two seasons and, even though it performed okay, wasn’t renewed for a third). Now back on Alice, without Flo, a new character was needed. So Flo was replaced by Belle, played by … yep, Diane Ladd. (I somewhat remember when this happened and it was very weird. The studio audience went absolutely nuts for Belle, in a way where everyone obviously knew her and there was something special happening. But as a six-year-old I had no clue what was going on and there was no way to look this up. And, unsurprisingly, my friends in first grade couldn’t provide me with the answer that this was obviously the original Flo from the popular Martin Scorsese movie.)
This really would be like if Goodfellas was turned into a sitcom. Then in the sitcom, Jon Lovitz played the part of Tommy and his character became so popular he got his own show called I’m Funny How, or whatever. Then Joe Pesci shows up as Lovitz’s replacement, playing a brand new character named Fredrick. And on Pesci’s first show the studio audience just loves it.
As an aside, things get a little weirder when Belle is then replaced by Jolene. And it’s revealed that Jolene is related to Boss Hogg from The Dukes of Hazzard. Then Boss Hogg and Enos show up in Phoenix at Mel’s Diner, which is a long way from Georgia. So, yes, it just kind of hit me that, “Martin Scorsese made a movie that became a sitcom that takes place in the same universe as The Dukes of Hazzard.” And that definitely sounds fake.
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For those who have played the classic Nintendo 64 title, you might recognize Todd as, well, you. Back in the original game, players took on the role of the budding photographer, guiding him on various expeditions as he cataloged Pokemon for Professor Oak. Back in 1999, Todd was the same age as presumably the bulk of the Pokemon fanbase, new to double digits and mere moments away from raging hormones. 
