Donald Trump might be America’s midnight wordsmith, but Merriam-Webster isn’t bowing to all the covfefe — the President’s made-up lingo will NOT be in their good book. Merriam-Webster’s editor-at-large, Peter Sololowski, tells TMZ … Trump’s now…
Thursday, June 1, 2017
Tyler Shields: No Apologies Here for Decapitated Donald Trump Video!
While Kathy Griffin has been raked over every conceivable coal since starring in a video that featured her pretending to behead Donald Trump, the man behind this controversial video has gone relatively unscathed.
His name is Tyler Shields.
He’s a photographer known for shooting controversial subjects and/or topics, but he’s never stepped into a fire quite like this before.
As you’ve likely read about and probably complained about already, Griffin sky-rocketed to viral infamy on Tuesday night when she shared footage on Twitter of herself holding the bloody, decapitated head of the Commander-in-Chief.
“There was blood coming out of his eyes, blood coming out of his…wherever,” wrote the comedian as a caption to the video.
But no one was laughing.
Democrats lashed out at Griffin for going too far and giving Republicans understandable ammunition with which they could attack Donald Trump critics.
Republicans lashed out because… well… Griffin is holding bloody, decapitated head of the Commander-in-Chief.
What the heck was she thinking?!?
In response to the overwhelming backlash, Griffin issued an apology just a few hours after the (VERY) questionable video went viral.
And the mea culpa at least did not make any excuses or beat around any bushes.
She came right out, took responsibility and continually said she messed up.
“I beg for your forgiveness. I went too far,” Griffin says below, adding:
“I moved the line, and then I crossed it. I went way too far. The image is too disturbing. I understand how it offends people.”
Griffin has still been fired by CNN and dropped from an ad campaign, but at least she has realized her mistake.
Shields? Not so much.
Shortly after the firestorm got started, he Tweeted, “Can you go to jail for making an artistic statement? Asking for a friend…”
The answer to that short-sighted statement is no, of course.
But you can go to jail for threatening the life of a sitting President, and this stupid photo shoot comes pretty darn close to doing that.
As a result, Griffin is under investigation by the Secret Service, according to various sources.
Is Shields concerned about authorities coming after him? Does he have any regrets over the pictorial?
It sure doesn’t sound that way.
Speaking to Splash News last night, after a shopping trip at a supermarket in Los Angeles, Shields was asked for his response to the Trump video and everyone’s take on it.
“The thing is, man, honestly, I’ve got no problem… if you make art, you’ve gotta stand by it,” he said, adding:
“Can’t censor myself, man.”
Shields wasn’t clear on whether he’s spoken to Griffin since the controversy arose, but he was very clear on his immediate plans:
“I’m just gonna just go home and eat my ice dream and hide out,” he said the end this interview.
Shields is clearly pretty chill about this entire thing.
Which is more than can be said about the President himself.
“Kathy Griffin should be ashamed of herself,” Trump Tweeted in response to the video.
“My children, especially my 11 year old son, Barron, are having a hard time with this. Sick!”
For the first time in recorded history, we can’t disagree with Donald Trump. He’s right.
James Corden Performs as Mary Poppins for Crosswalk Musical in London (VIDEO)
James Corden did the most British thing ever — besides high tea with the Queen — when he dressed up as Mary Poppins and paraded across a London street singing her greatest hits. Corden’s late night show is shooting a few episodes across the pond…
Farrah Abraham: Debra Danielsen Has Asperger"s Syndrome!
If you watch Teen Mom online, than you’re probably aware that Farrah Abraham is not known for expressing herself in the most articulate fashion.
In fact, the Teen Mom everyone loves to hate is clearly a graduate of the Sarah Palin School of Rhetoric:
She uses words without understanding their meanings, mutters expressions that make sense only to her, and changes topics rapidly in an effort to move on before anyone can point that what she just said makes no sense.
Amazingly, however, Farrah is capable of occasional flashes of intellect.
By which we mean she sometimes uses words in an order that wouldn’t cause the average English teacher’s head to explode.
Farrah recently appeared on Dr. Drew’s podcast, and the medical-professional-turned-MTV-quack was effusive in his praise of Ms. Abraham’s eloquence and astuteness.
He even went so far as to concur with Farrah’s insights about her mother’s mental state.
Granted, Dr. Drew is about as much of a respected medical professional these days as doctors Dre, Pepper, and Who, but it’s still surprising to hear him publicly agree with a reality star’s diagnosis of a different reality star.
(We won’t even bother delving into the question of whether or not it’s ethical for Drew to do so.)
Drew began his prying into the psychological state of Debra Danielsen (who wasn’t there to defend herself, BTW) by buttering Farrah up with a few well-chosen compliments.
“Farrah you say some of the most profound stuff sometimes and I’m sorry that a lot of it doesn’t get on TV,” a fawning Drew told Farrah before basically announcing to the world he’s given up on being taken seriously by the medical community.
“I was just looking at your mom and have gotten to know her over the years too and I’m just worried there’s something psychiatrically going on there that’s not being properly managed. Am I on to something?” Drew asked.
(Yes, a doctor just asked Farrah Abraham if he’s “onto something” with his assessment of a third party.)
“I guess she dates a doctor so there that goes,” Farrah initially demurred.
I’m thinking there’s something really there that you’ve been pounding against your whole life and your mom isn’t aware it’s there and it’s of a psychiatric nature,” Drew persisted, before asking again:
“Am I on to something here?”
“That is what it is. That’s what I know now and I’m done with conversations and I’m done with fighting the uphill battle,” Farrah said, adding:
“I’ve researched so much about my mother that I think she has Asperger’s and has some other things.”
Asperger’s is a milder disorder on the autism spectrum. It can be difficult to diagnose, but that didn’t stop Drew from doing exactly that on a freakin’ podcast.
Believe it or not, Drew continued to goad Farrah from there, pushing her to play another game of armchair psychiatrist:
“What do you think besides Apserger’s? Because I agree with you,” he told Farrah.
Farrah says she “forgot the other stuff,” leading Drew to prompt her:
“I’m not her doctor but I’ve been concerned there’s something on the schizoaffective spectrum.”
Farrah and Drew go on to conclude that Debra is in need of serious psychiatric help, but neither goes so far as to point out that if that’s true, she probably shouldn’t be on a reality show.
Look, we’re not saying Deb deserves to win mother of the year, but as far as we know, she’s never, say, talked about her 8-year-old daughter’s future sex tape.
We don’t want to imply that Farrah is mentally ill, but we will say that her pathologizing someone else’s bizarre behavior is a serious pot-kettle situation.
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