Ariana Grande’s brief nemesis on iTunes has jokes … poking fun at accusations his “bots” launched him to the top of the charts. You’ll recall Chinese rapper Kris Wu released his album in America earlier this week, and it immediately shot up…
Showing posts with label Controversy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Controversy. Show all posts
Saturday, November 10, 2018
Thursday, September 27, 2018
NFL"s Eric Reid Signed By Panthers Despite Kneeling Controversy
Eric Reid — who filed a collusion grievance against the NFL — has just been signed by the Carolina Panthers, the team announced. Reid was widely considered one of the best free agent safeties on the market — but he believed he was…
Wednesday, August 22, 2018
Paris Jackson Apologizes for Harper"s Bazaar Cover Controversy
Paris Jackson recently confirmed her sexuality, and drew accusations of hypocrisy for appearing on a magazine cover in Singapore, where being gay is criminalized.
Paris was called out by members of her own community for appearing to endorse a country whose laws regard her very existence as a crime.
Others rose to Paris’ defense, and she issued an apology.
After Gay Star News called out Paris on what they saw as a betrayal of the LGBTQ+ community by one of its own, Paris was quick to apologize.
“i didn’t know,” Paris tweeted, quoting the article. “i am sorry.”
“i was grateful for the opportunity,” Paris added, explaining why she had done the cover photo to begin with.
She is a young model. Despite her fame, she is 20 years old, and being on the cover of a magazine is still a big deal.
“But,” she said. “i’ll delete the post now.”
“i don’t want to be hypocritical or hurt anyone,” Paris continued on Twitter.
Of course she doesn’t! She’s a good person who always lends her voice to good causes and to marginalized communities.
“And my support for my fellow LGBTQ+ community comes first,” Paris affirmed. “Before my love for fashion and gratitude for this opportunity.”
It’s good that she has her priorities in order.
Paris finished that tweet with: “Again, i’m sorry.”
Paris had more thoughts, and it’s god that she shared them — because this is thought-provoking.
“I would like to add though,” Paris tweets. “That someone that is openly a part of the community being on the cover in a country against the community, should be celebrated.”
Representation is important, and a major first step towards acceptance.
Paris asks: “isn’t that a step forward?”
“Again,” Paris reiterates. “I am deeply sorry.”
Paris isn’t getting defensive, but she’s explaining why she took the gig and questioning some of the criticism, which is extremely fair.
“I didn’t mean to be hypocritical or hurt anyone,” Paris makes clear.
In a follow-up tweet, she does have one other line.
“Also,” Paris writes. “That article is ridiculously mean.”
That happens sometimes — some celebrities are nasty people. But is that sort of meanness deserved in Paris’ case?
Paris was on the cover of a magazine. If she were in an ad hyping up tourism for Singapore — or Dubai or, for some reason, Chechnya, this criticism would make a lot more sense.
But a magazine cover is not an endorsement of a country.
And representation can be so important. Paris heard supportive messages from countless fans, including the LGBTQ+ community and folks from Singapore.
When your own country’s laws are against you, seeing someone like you on a magazine cover can give you a spark of hope. Hope can mean survival.
It’s hard to see how Paris was doing a bad thing, there.
Monday, July 30, 2018
Corey Lewandowski Shopping for TV Deals Despite "Womp Womp" Controversy
Corey Lewandowski has his sights set on Hollywood … he just needs to channel his inner Prez to blow past some negative pub and make it happen. Sources close to Donald Trump’s former campaign manager tell TMZ … he’s been shopping ideas for…
Corey Lewandowski Shopping for TV Deals Despite "Womp Womp" Controversy
Corey Lewandowski has his sights set on Hollywood … he just needs to channel his inner Prez to blow past some negative pub and make it happen. Sources close to Donald Trump’s former campaign manager tell TMZ … he’s been shopping ideas for…
Monday, July 16, 2018
President Trump & Putin "Love Story" Cartoon Stirs Controversy
Presidents Trump and Putin got a thing going on … a love thing, if ya buy into the satirical cartoon The New York Times just released, which is already stirring a ton of controversy. In this episode of Trump Bites, Donald Trump’s…
Sunday, July 15, 2018
Hulk Hogan Reinstated Into WWE Hall of Fame After N-Word Controversy
Hulk Hogan is back in the WWE’s good graces three years after he was caught on tape using the n-word … reclaiming his place in the wrestling league’s Hall of Fame. WWE issued a statement Sunday, saying that after a 3-year suspension … Hulk was…
Friday, July 6, 2018
Woman Tweets Airline Meet-Cute, Sparks #PlaneBae Controversy
Twitter has erupted in controversy, folks.
Not over the color of a dress or the sound of a word this time, but over the right to one"s privacy while on board an airplane.
Earlier this month, a Twitter user named Rosey Blair was flying to Dallas when she asked a young woman if he would switch seats with her so that she could sit next to her boyfriend.
The woman obliged, moving just one row up, right in front of Blair, and paving the way for a viral meet-cute.
Indeed, Blair proceeded to live-Tweet the interactions and the exchanges between this man and the man who took the window next along her side, sparking an unexpected controversy across social media.
Was Blair just being funny, providing a few chuckles for her followers by chronicling a pretty cool turn of events?
Or was she being way creepy for invading the privacy of these individuals?
Scroll down, learn more and decide for yourself.
1. Here We Do…
First, Blair explained what had just transpired and what she HOPED would subequently transpire. She got followers ready for what was to come.
2. Total Flirts!
It’s happening! It’s really happening! These fitness buffs hit it off before the plane even took off.
3. Vegetarians Unite!
They share the same taste in food and in working out and their arms are SO close to touching. This is true love!
4. Oh, It Is TOTALLY On Now
Trust us, fellas: when a woman puts her hair down, she is getting down to business.
5. So. Much. Closer.
Let me just zoom in here and make a diagram so you fully understand the proximity of arms here. They are very close to each other!
6. We’re Gonna Need ALL-CAPS for This
A protein board, people! They’ve zoomed past drinks and are already sharing a meal together!
Thursday, June 28, 2018
Melania Trump Visits Second Child Detention Site Without Controversy
Melania Trump just made it as clear as black and white … she’s NOT about to get caught in another wardrobe firestorm en route to her second trip to the border. The First Lady touched down in Tuscon Thursday dressed to the nines — and this…
Wednesday, May 23, 2018
Van Lathan Slams Josh Denny"s N-Word Usage After "Straight White Male" Controversy
Comedian and Food Network host Josh Denny has come under fire for his recent comment that “‘Straight White Male’ has become this century’s N-Word,” and his convo with TMZ’s Van Lathan only added fuel … when Denny used the racial slur multiple…
Thursday, March 29, 2018
Janice Dickinson Sues Ryan Seacrest"s Co. Over Romper Controversy on "Shahs of Sunset"
Janice Dickinson is suing Ryan Seacrest’s production company, claiming a storyline on “Shahs of Sunset” that she stole a romper from GG was manufactured and just plain false. Janice’s beef is over an episode where Janice was backstage at a…
Saturday, March 24, 2018
Johnny Manziel Speaks Out on Colin Kaepernick Comparisons and Controversy
Johnny Manziel’s had it with the controversy over his quest to return to the NFL being compared to Colin Kaepernick’s situation, and he’s speaking out in favor of Kaep … and himself. The former Browns QB says he’s tired of the anger people have…
Wednesday, March 14, 2018
The Crown Controversy: Wait... Claire Foy Earned HOW MUCH?!?
The Crown may be the most critically-beloved show on all of Netflix.
But the drama is being roasted left and right at the moment for a reason that has nothing to do with what you see on screen…
And everything to do with something that happened off screen.
During a panel discussion about the series at the INTV Conference in Jerusalem on Tuesday, producers acknowledged a discrepancy between the salaries of its two stars, Claire Foy and Matt Smith.
The former portrayed Queen Elizabeth, while the latter takes on the role of her husband, Prince Philip.
Asked directly whether Foy was paid the same as Smith, producer Suzanne Mackie surprised those in attendance by answering in the negative.
No salary figures were discussed, but Mackie admitted Smith earned more for his two seasons of work than Foy.
“Going forward,” she then noted. “No one gets paid more than the Queen.”
This change, however, will not benefit Foy, earned earned an Emmy Award for her work on Season 1.
Due to a time jump for Season 3, Olivia Colman will step in as the Queen.
(Helena Bonham-Carter will play Princess Margaret and Netflix has not yet confirmed which actor will portray Prince Philip.)
In light of the ongoing #MeToo movement and the important conversation surrounding how women are treated in Hollywood, this salary difference has become a source of disgust and debate on social media.
Yes, Smith was a better known star when the series started shooting, having established himself for multiple seasons as the titular character on Dr. Who.
But Foy played THE QUEEN HERSELF on a show about… THE QUEEN.
Moreover, Foy simply appeared on screen a significant amount of time more than Smith over the show’s first two seasons.
Earlier this year, it was disclosed that Michelle Williams was paid a fraction of what her All The Money In The World co-star Mark Wahlberg earned for reshooting sections of the film.
As in: Williams was paid $ 80 per day and Wahlberg was paid $ 1.5 million total.
Once word of this discrepancy leaked out, Wahlberg agreed to donate that entire sum to charity.
The third season of The Crown, which begins filming in July, will move into the Camilla Parker Bowles years; it will also introduce a young Princess Diana.
“Those are going to be extraordinary, those episodes,” said Mackie.
But will fans keep tuning in, now that viewer favorite Foy is no longer a part of the cast?
And will this scandal have any long-term affect on the success of the series?
Mackie didn’t address these concerns or questions, instead joking around a bit when considering where else The Crown may go.
Like into very modern times, perhaps?
“I want to see an episode where [Donald Trump] comes to Buckingham Palace,” the producer said.
As for Meghan Markle?
“She can play herself.”
We’d be down with that. But Markle better get paid more than Trump for her appearance!
Wednesday, February 14, 2018
Logan Paul"s Brother, Jake Paul, Defends YouTube"s Reaction to Controversy
Jake Paul isn’t making excuses for his big brother, Logan Paul … telling us YouTube’s got every right to drop the hammer, and says his brand hasn’t gone unscathed by Logan’s antics. We got Jake Monday at LAX and asked if he thought…
Monday, February 12, 2018
Barack & Michelle Obama Portraits Stir Sentiment, Controversy
Barack and Michelle Obama returned to the public eye on Monday, February 12.
Both the real-life versions of these stars and two pieces of artwork based on them, as the Smithsonian"s National Portrait Gallery unveiled its two latest additions to its presidential portraits collection.
The paintings of the 44th President of the United States and his First Lady were completed by world famous artists Kehinde Wiley and Amy Sherald, respectively, and each drew quite a reaction on social media.
Some users looked at these portraits and longed for the days when there was a sense of sanity and intelligence in the White House.
Others, meanwhile, looked at Michelle"s in particular and wondered: WTH is that?!?
Scroll down for a look at the paintings and for some of the most prominent reactions online to them…
1. Barack Obama
Simple. Elegant. Beautiful. There weren’t many negative responses to this depiction of former President Obama.
2. Michelle Obama
A thing of beauty or a thing of controversy? The Internet is split on this official Michelle Obama portrait.
3. How Appropriate
Two African-American artists for the first African-American couple in the White House. Makes sense, right?
4. We Feel Ya, Little Girl
These portraits are gorgeous, they just take us back and give us ALL the feels.
5. We’re Not Entirely Sure What This Means
But it still sounds about right to us.
6. The Future Seems Bright
It only SEEMS that way upon portrait glance, that is. In reality, let’s remember who is President.
Thursday, February 8, 2018
Kim Kardashian Topless Pic Ignites Controversy (Also, Probably, Boners)
At this point, we’ve probably seen Kim Kardashian topless a couple hundred times.
Maybe a couple thousand?
It’s hard to estimate, when you consider the screen shots from her sex tape alone and then cycle through her Playboy and Paper spreads and then consider her Instagram account, like, everday.
But we’ve never seen Kim Kardashian topless quite like this before.
The reality star and mother of three shared yet another photo on social media this morning of herself without a shirt on, yet this one is different.
For one thing, she’s facing away from the camera… which sucks.
For another thing, a professional photographer did not snap this image. Nor did Kim herself.
Instead, the person behind the camera was… four-year old daughter North?
Yes, according to Kardashian herself in the caption below:
As you might expect, many social media users had A LOT to say about this snapshot.
And not much of it was positive.
“So now your daughter is taking the provocative photos for you to post?” one user wrote, while another chimed in as follows:
“Why Kim?? Seriously you are her role model. There’s so much good and beautiful about you and your family. Why cheapen it? You don’t need to.”
We understand these opinions. We really do.
But we also don’t know the context of the picture.
Most kids just love to snap pictures. Perhaps Kim and North were just goofing around.
We doubt Kim told her toddler to take a picture of her half-naked and then explained that it would instantly go up on her Instagram page.
And, let’s be honest, North probably sees her mom without a shirt on all the time. This isn’t exactly a big deal to her.
But critics weren’t buying any of this logic.
“I can’t imagine asking my daughter to take a provocative photo of me,” wrote someone else in response, adding:
“This is pretty distasteful seeing as a child took it.”
Kim certainly has been in a weird mood ever since becoming a mother for the third time.
How so? Well…
FIRST, she named this new child Chicago West.
THEN, she attacked Lamar Odom.
THEN, she went after Lindsay Lohan.
THEN, she put her hair back into blonde braids.
And she keeps posing mostly nude. Like, very often.
As we’ve mentioned before, Kim now has three little kids at home and may just be very bored.
So, in the case of her latest image, at least she managed to kill two birds with one stone: She found something for both her and North to do!
Tuesday, January 23, 2018
TMZ Live: James Franco: Oscar Snub Controversy
ON TODAY’S SHOW 50 Cent: Bitcoin Fortune! Mark Wahlberg: I Don’t Take Steroids! Bill Cosby Returns To Comedy DMX: Drunken Airport Preaching
Brian Westbrook: No QB Controversy In Philly, Carson Wentz Is the Future
Nick Foles is killing it right now … but when Carson Wentz gets healthy, the starting QB job in Philly is HIS … so says Eagles legend Brian Westbrook. Westbrook — who’s in the Eagles Hall of Fame — tells TMZ Sports he’s incredibly proud…
Wednesday, January 10, 2018
James Franco Denies Sexual Assault Allegations Following Golden Globes Controversy
It’s been a hectic 72 hours in the life of James Franco.
On Sunday night, the celebrated actor/director/artsy weirdo won a Golden Globe for his portrayal of fellow actor/director/artsy weirdo Tommy Wiseau in The Disaster Artist.
It was inarguably one of the biggest highlights of a career filled with critical acclaim and tremendous commercial success.
Within minutes of Franco’s acceptance speech, however, the 39-year-old was publicly accused of several incidents of sexual misconduct and brahypocriteoctrite for his ostensible support of the Time’s Up initiative.
Actress Ally Sheedy was the first to hint at abusive behavior on Franco’s part, posting a series of scathing tweets that have since been deleted.
“Why is James Franco allowed in? Said too much. Nite love ya,” she began.
“James Franco just won. Please never ask me why I left the film/tv business,” Sheedy wrote during Franco’s acceptance speech.
At one point, she implied that actor Christian Slater was also guilty of some sort of misconduct, tweeting:
“Ok wait. Bye. James Franco and Christian Slater at a table on @goldenglobes #MeToo”
Many stated that they were not surprised by Sheedy’s accusations.
Some called attention to Franco’s history of sexual misconduct.
(In 2014, the actor was accused of attempting to seduce a 17-year-old girl via Instagram.)
Others tweeted about appalling firsthand experiences with Franco.
“Cute #TIMESUP pin James Franco. Remember the time you pushed my head down in a car towards your exposed penis & that other time you told my friend to come to your hotel when she was 17?” tweeted a woman named Violet Paley, adding:
“After you had already been caught doing that to a different 17 year old?”
Paley later followed up by writing:
“A couple weeks ago, James offered me & a few other girls an overdue, annoyed, convenient phone ‘apology’. I don’t accept, but maybe some other people’s lives would be made easier if he donated all of his earnings from ‘The Disaster Artist’ to @RAINN01.”
Franco is already experiencing preliminary fallout from the accusations, as at least one promotional event for The Disaster Artist has been canceled.
Franco appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert last night, where he denied the allegations against him while at the same time expressing sympathy toward his accusers.
“I haven’t read [the accusations.] I’ve heard about them,” Franco said.
“The things that I heard that were on Twitter are not accurate but I completely support people coming out and being able to have a voice because they didn’t have a voice for so long. So I don’t want to … shut them down in any way.”
Asked about Sheedy’s allegations, Franco replied:
“I have no idea what I did to Ally Sheedy. I directed her in a play Off Broadway. I had nothing but a great time with her, total respect for her. I have no idea why she was upset
We’ll have further updates on this developing story as more information becomes available.
Thursday, January 4, 2018
Briana DeJesus SLAMMED for Weighing In on Logan Paul Suicide Forest Controversy!
2018 is off to a wild start. Like 2017, but without the Hollyweed sign as a symbol of hope.
Because Teen Mom 2 star Briana DeJesus is being slammed left and right over a tweet … all about vile YouTuber Logan Paul’s tasteless Suicide Forest video.
We saw a lot of bad takes about that suicide video, but Briana’s might be the very worst.
Teen Mom, as a franchise, is not something that we ever imagined having any kind of crossover with a famous YouTuber like Logan Paul.
Logan Paul is a 22-year-old professional prankster. Is he hot? Yes. Is he absolutely, infuriatingly obnoxious? Even more yes.
That hasn’t stopped him from making millions through YouTube.
To give you a hint of how obnoxious he is, he did a video with Danielle Bregoli, and was still easily the worst person in the room.
The first time that he came to my attention enough that I learned his name was when his neighbors were suing him for being, um, an insufferable nuisance who was ruining their lives.
This time, in an incident that we had hoped would be the final straw (like when Pewdiepie yelled the N-word back in September), Logan Paul traveled to Japan.
As you can see from the above photo, he’s not exactly the most tasteful tourist. (There’s nothing wrong with enjoying Pokemon; there’s everything wrong with treating Japan and Pokemon as near-synonyms)
Aokigahara forest is famous for the saddest reason — it is not an uncommon place for suicides. When Logan Paul and his cohorts entered the forest with cameras, they encountered a recent suicide victim.
At which point, they promptly started to do weird voices and appeared to mock the man and the entire situation. Positively ghoulish.
Logan Paul apologized again and again, but considering that he chose to monetize his apology video, many find his words insincere.
So … how does Briana DeJesus fit into all of this, you ask?
We don’t know if Briana was trying to “laugh it off” but has a terrible sense of humor, or if she was craving negative attention, or if she really has that terrible of a sense of taste.
But of all of the bad takes that we saw about Logan Paul and his atrocious video, Briana’s might be the worst.
The Teen Mom 2 star tweeted:
“My sister just made me watch a video of a whole bunch of boys going into the Suicide forest to explore and Wow men are p–sies lmao.”
Yikes.
So, it looks like she watched that awful video and her takeaway was that Logan Paul and his cronies were wimpy?
She didn’t question why he went there in the first place, or why he didn’t stop himself while editing and uploading the video.
Fans took it upon themselves to try to educate Briana:
“This is no fun hunted house. It’s a place where ppl go & commit suicide. If your gonna go, go to pray. Pay respect, or for awareness. This is far from a great tourist attraction. I like you but this isn’t right.”
“Seriously I think you should stop and consider how you would feel if this was one of your family members who had gone to this forest to end their life. It’s not a tourist attraction.”
Then Briana hit everyone with a twist:
“It wasn’t the Logan video. I said a bunch of men…last time I recalled Logan had females with him too lol.”
Fans, uh, didn’t necessarily buy that.
“Awfully coincidental that it happens to be when everyone is freaking out about the LP video. It’s very tasteless and he has apologized for it. Nothing to be ‘hype’ about a place where people often go to end their life”
It sure seems like she wouldn’t have tweeted what she tweeted unless she was trying to get attention.
But Briana claims that she means no disrespect to the dead:
“I did educate myself. I know what the Forest is known for but there’s also beautiful scenery out there and tons of ice caves. My uncle committed suicide so I had my fair share also it’s life, things happen like that everyday. I’ll never disrespect.”
Some fans pushed for Briana to be removed from Teen Mom 2. That … well, that’s overkill.
It sounds like Briana made a dumb tweet that may have been a misguided ploy for headlines.
Similarly, there’s a path to redemption for Logan Paul. Not as long as he keeps monetizing apologies, but he can do it.
He’s 22. He has years ahead of him before he stops being a beautiful idiot and starts just being a dumbass who has to actually be funny and likable in order to get views and fans.
Maybe he learned something from all of this. Like, actually learned something from all of this.
Only time will tell.
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