But I bet you already knew that.

View Entire Post ›

What qualities make up your makeup?

View Entire Post ›

View Entire Post ›

Early into the Black Lives Matter protests that have swept the nation and the globe, CNN’s Don Lemon chastised Hollywood players who’ve done little to support the cause. Since then a number of celebrities have put in live appearances. Last week, John Boyega delivered a stirring, emotional speech, one so direct he wondered if it would hurt his career. (Luckily it probably won’t.) Now Michael B. Jordan has popped up at one in Los Angeles, where he had choice words for his currently paused industry.

As per Entertainment Weekly, the actor attended a protest in Century City, and he addressed a matter of great concern right now: How does Hollywood change to recognize the racial issues raised by the killing of George Floyd?

“We have to relook at our business,” Jordan told the crowd. One solution, he said, was to “invest in black staff,” at studios and at agencies. “You committed to a 50/50 gender parity in 2020, where is the challenge to commit to black hiring?” he asked. “Black content led by black executives, black consultants. Are you policing our storytelling as well? Let us bring our darkness to the light.”

Jordan spoke about how he’s handled his own career. “Anybody that deals with me, if you have racist beliefs, if you have a racist bone in your body, if you’re not with me, if you don’t stand with me and people that look like me, you don’t need to be with me,” Jordan said. “I use my power to demand diversity but it’s time that studios and agencies do so.”

Jordan has regularly taken roles that address the issues being raised during the protests. His starmaking role was in Fruitvale Station, in which he played Oscar Grant, one of countless African-American victims of police violence. Jordan spoke about researching the role, having the “opportunity to feel the pain of his family, his daughter, his mother.” He added, “I lived with that for a very long time and it weighs on me.”

He also spoke about his starring role in the 2018 HBO version of Fahrenheit 451, in which he played a fireman in a dystopian future who joins the revolution. “Producing that movie made me really realize the lengths that the government and oppressors will go to keep knowledge out of your hands,” Jordan said.

Then there’s last year’s Just Mercy, which was recently made available for free over streaming platforms for the rest of the month in light of the protests. The docudrama tells of an idealistic lawyer, named Bryan Stevenson played by Jordan, who tries to help an African-American man wrongfully convicted of murder (played by Foxx). Jordan spoke about the honor of playing Stevenson. “I learned his tactics. I learned his mentality. I learned his approach to things. Very calm. Very strategic. Very thoughtful,” Jordan said. “You have to be proximal. You have to be close to [the] issues.”

Jordan also tried to inspire fellow protesters to stay strong and to stay the course. “What we are doing today will make our values heard and our voices heard. We’ve got to keep agitating things,” he said. “We can’t be complacent. We can’t let this moment just pass us by, we have to continue to put our foot on their necks.”

(Via Entertainment Weekly)

View Entire Post ›

CrossFit has become one of the most popular fitness organizations over the last decade, but the organization is now facing severe backlash from affiliate gyms, members, and its top sponsor, Reebok, after CEO Greg Glassman posted insensitive and remarks on Twitter regarding racism and George Floyd.

A tweet from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation called racism and discrimination “critical pubic health issues,” to which Glassman replied on his verified @CrossFitCEO account that it was “Floyd-19,” a wildly insensitive and offensive tweet, downplaying both racism and the killing of Floyd and the COVID-19 pandemic.

On Sunday, Reebok announced they were ending their partnership with CrossFit over the tweet, issuing a statement noting that they would no longer enter into negotiations to extend their deal with CrossFit that ends this year after Glassman’s comments, via Footwear News.

“Our partnership with CrossFit HQ comes to an end later this year. Recently, we have been in discussions regarding a new agreement, however, in light of recent events, we have made the decision to end our partnership with CrossFit HQ. We will fulfill our remaining contractual obligations in 2020. We owe this to the CrossFit Games competitors, fans and the community.

“What doesn’t change is our commitment and dedication to CrossFitters and the passionate CrossFit community. We’re so thankful for the strong bonds we’ve created with coaches, box owners and athletes around the world over the past 10 years. We want to especially thank Dave Castro, Nicole Carroll, Andy Stumpf, Steve Weiss and Jimi Letchford, who were instrumental in ensuring Reebok was welcomed by the community, so that we could do our part to help more people improve their lives through fitness.”

Given that, aside from their UFC deal, CrossFit was Reebok’s biggest partner, this is a significant move. As the statement notes, they will not be exiting the marketplace and will still focus heavily on training shoes and apparel, but will no longer be a lead sponsor for the official CrossFit organization.

Not only is Reebok jumping ship, but some gyms across the country are announcing they are disaffiliating from the CrossFit brand.

On Saturday J.K. Rowling decided to make some controversial comments about trans people. The author — one of the most successful of her kind in history — took to her frequently updated Twitter account to share a story about creating better gender equality in our future post-Covid world. But she didn’t just tweet it out. She also, despite being a friend of the gay community, added a joke about trans people.

‘People who menstruate.’ I’m sure there used to be a word for those people,” the author of the Harry Potter series tweeted. “Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?”

This did not go over well. Rowling may have created one of the most popular franchise in the modern world, but that did not protect her from people righteously angry that she’d say something insensitive about people who are already targets for harassment and violence. So, as many celebrities do when they say something that is, to put it mildly, deeply unpopular, she explained herself by way of doubling down.

“If sex isn’t real, there’s no same-sex attraction,” Rowling wrote about a half hour later. “If sex isn’t real, the lived reality of women globally is erased. I know and love trans people, but erasing the concept of sex removes the ability of many to meaningfully discuss their lives. It isn’t hate to speak the truth.”

Rowling then tried to back-pedal a bit, claiming that labeling her anti-trans is “nonsense,” and that she’s “been empathetic to trans people for decades, feeling kinship because they’re vulnerable in the same way as women – ie, to male violence.” She concluded by saying, “I respect every trans person’s right to live any way that feels authentic and comfortable to them. I’d march with you if you were discriminated against on the basis of being trans. At the same time, my life has been shaped by being female. I do not believe it’s hateful to say so.”

Many disagreed. Rowling was roundly condemned by the trans community and its allies, among them Jameela Jamil, whose response was simple: She asked the fabulously wealthy author to prove that she stood with trans people by charitably donating to a GoFundMe for homeless black trans women.

Jamil also made sure to underline the absurdity of a wildly popular author putting her legacy on the line in such a fashion.

Jonathan Van Ness was more outspoken in his outrage.

As was Sarah Paulson.

And Anthony Rapp.

GLAAD criticized her by directing attention to a number of organizations help black trans people.

This isn’t the first time Rowling has been criticized for aligning herself with anti-trans beliefs. Last December she publicly sided with a researcher who was fired for making comments against the trans community, prompting a blacklash that, all in all, wasn’t as large as this.

Among the many things to be affected by the coronavirus have been the cancellation of graduation ceremonies across the country. High school and college students in the class of 2020 have been left to celebrate their accomplishments through Zoom meetings, with the hope that in-person ceremonies can be held in the fall. To make the deprivation of this ceremony less painful, Barack Obama has joined forces with YouTube Originals for a series of Dear Class of 2020 livestreams, which have already seen appearances from Taylor Swift, Michelle Obama, Justin Timberlake, Lizzo, Billie Eilish and more.

Beyonce is the latest to join the livestream. The singer began her speech by asking the graduates to thank their community for helping them reach this life achievement. “Please remember to take a little bit of time to give thanks to your family members and the community who’s been such a big support system for you,” she said. “You are achieving things your parents and grandparents never could imagine for themselves. You are the answer to a generation of prayers.”

Beyonce then urged them to continue chasing their dreams and to let “that vulnerability motivate you into greatness.” Lastly, Beyonce used the recent protests all across the country to show what the results of coming together could look like. “Look what you’ve been able to do in the last 14 days,” she said. “We’ve seen the power of the collective. We’ve seen what happens when we join for the same cause. Please, continue to be the voice for the voiceless.”

You can watch Beyonce’s speech in the video above, and you can tune into the Dear Class Of 2020 livestream at the top of this post to hear words from Megan Thee Stallion, Demi Lovato, Katy Perry, Barack Obama, and more.

View Entire Post ›

View Entire Post ›