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There was never a dull moment during the 49th Annual American Music Awards.

Cardi B made her hosting debut at the 2021 AMAs which took place at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angles, Calif., on Sunday, November 21.

Taylor Swift, JoJo Siwa and BTS all had big nights at the show. Doja Cat won three awards while Megan Thee Stallion took home two.

CARDI B, OLIVIA RODRIGO & MORE STARS SHOW OFF THEIR GLAMOROUS SIDES ON THE 2021 AMERICAN MUSIC AWARDS RED CARPET: PHOTOS

Scroll down to check out the highlights from the 2021 AMAs.

BTS & JoJo Siwa Selfie

 

BTS had a massive night. The group performed twice and took home three awards, including Artist of the Year. One of the highlights was JoJo Siwa taking a selfie with the group on stage.

Cardi B Asks JoJo Siwa To Meet Her Daughter For Christmas

 

While hosting the AMAs, Cardi B noted how difficult it was to book the Dance Moms alum for her daughter Kulture‘s birthday. “So JoJo Siwa could you please come see my daughter at Christmas? I know you cost a lot of money — let me tell you something, y’all — rappers don’t got nothing on JoJo Siwa,” she joked. “Cardi, I’m gonna see what I can do and I’m gonna try and make Christmas happen. I promise, putting it in my phone now. I take Bitcoin,” the teen replied and said she “can’t wait to meet Kulture.”

Cardi B Recalls Past Heart Break

 

The AMA host told the audience she had her “heart broken for the first time by a bum” when she was 15 before introducing Olivia Rodrigo. “I love her so much,” the rapper said of the “drivers license” singer.

Olivia Rodrigo Performs ‘Traitor’

 

Olivia Rodrigo made her AMAs debut. The teen performed an acoustic version of “Traitor” from her debut alum Sour while surrounded by flowers.

Taylor Swift Breaks Her Own Record

 

Taylor Swift has been unstoppable after releasingRed (Taylor’s Version) earlier this month. The 31-year-old won Favorite Female Pop Artist for the seventh time and took home Best Pop Album for “evermore.” The “Lover” singer broke her own record for the most AMA wins of all time and now has 34 AMA trophies.

J.Lo’s Quick Costume Change

 

Jennifer Lopez performed her new single “On My Way” from her upcoming movie Marry Me. The 52-year-old began the performance wearing a black blazer over a long black skirt before she vanished and reappeared in an ivory Dolce & Gabbana gown.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – A greater number of countries are sliding towards authoritarianism, while the number of established democracies under threat has never been so high, the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) said on Monday.

Populist politics, the use of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions to silence critics, a tendency of countries to mimic the anti-democratic behaviour of others, and disinformation used to divide societies are mainly to blame, the Stockholm-based intergovernmental organisation said in a report.

“More countries than ever are suffering from ‘democratic erosion’,” IDEA said in its 2021 study on the state of democracy, relying on data compiled since 1975.

“The number of countries undergoing ‘democratic backsliding’ has never been as high,” it said, referring to the regressive turn in areas including checks on government and judicial independence, as well as media freedom and human rights.

Afghanistan, which was taken over by Taliban militants in August after international troops withdrew, is the most dramatic case this year, while Myanmar’s Feb. 1 coup marked the collapse of a fragile democracy. Other examples include Mali, which has suffered two coups since 2020, and Tunisia, where the president has dissolved parliament and assumed emergency powers.

Large democracies such as Brazil and the United States have seen presidents question the validity of election results, while India has witnessed the prosecution of groups of people critical of government policies.

Hungary, Poland, Slovenia and Serbia are the European countries with the greatest declines in democracy. Turkey has seen one of the largest declines between 2010 and 2020.

“In fact, 70 per cent of the global population now live either in non-democratic regimes or in democratically backsliding countries,” the report said.

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a surge in authoritarian behaviour by governments. The study said that there was no evidence that authoritarian regimes were better at fighting the pandemic, despite Chinese state media reports to the contrary.

“The pandemic provides additional tools and justification for repressive tactics and silencing of dissent in countries as diverse as Belarus, Cuba, Myanmar, Nicaragua and Venezuela,” the report said.

(Reporting by Robin Emmott; Editing by Hugh Lawson)

The author thanked the police in Scotland for their assistance in the matter. “I implore those people who retweeted the image with the address still visible, even if they did so in condemnation of these’s people’s actions, to delete it.”

She claims other women who share her opinions on the Transgender community “have been subject to campaigns of intimidation which range from being hounded on social media, the targeting of their employers, all the way up to doxing and direct threats of violence, including rape.”

Rowling says those women, “have been put into a state of fear and distress for no other reason than that they refuse to uncritically accept that the socio-political concept of gender identify should replace that of sex.”

She ended, “I’ve received so many death threats I could paper the house with them, and I haven’t stopped speaking out. Perhaps, And I’m just throwing this out there — the best way to prove your movement isn’t a threat to women, is to stop talking, harassing and threatening us.”

JK being “harassed” comes days after it was revealed she won’t be apart of the upcoming 20th anniversary for Harry Potter on HBOMax.

The streamer announced that Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, and other stars of the franchise will be coming together for a 20th reunion special; however, J.K. Rowling was noticeably MIA from the promotional material.

Her not appearing is not too surprising given Radcliffe has spoken out against her views on the transgender community.

In the past, JK has stood up for a man who was fired after posting transphobic tweets. She followed it up with a blog post that featured her “five reasons for being worried about the new trans activism.”

JK wrote about the “the huge explosion in young women wishing to transition” and the idea of “detransitioning,” in which the person goes back to their birth gender.

The LGBTQ+ community has criticized JK over her comments claiming she is misinformed and accuse her of spreading misinformation on the topic.

For his part, Daniel released a statement in which he said loud, “Transgender women are women, Any statement to the contrary erases the identity and dignity of transgender people and goes against all advice given by professional health care associations who have far more expertise on this subject matter than either Jo or I.”

By Kanishka Singh

(Reuters) – Beto O’Rourke, the Democratic former U.S. congressman who is running for governor of Texas, on Sunday criticized President Joe Biden for a lack of urgency on pursuing a revamp of immigration laws, indicating he will distance himself from the White House in his underdog campaign.

O’Rourke announced last Monday he will seek to unseat Republican Governor Greg Abbott in next year’s election, aiming to become the first Democrat to win a statewide race in Texas, the second most populous U.S. state, in three decades.

“I do not think we have seen enough urgency when it comes to rewriting our immigration laws to match the needs and the reality that we see, especially in our border communities,” O’Rourke told CNN’s “State of the Union” program on Sunday. “So, yes, we expect more of our president and those who represent us in Congress.”

The Democratic president has made other issues such as infrastructure, social spending and COVID-19 relief higher legislative priorities than immigration reform. Democrats narrowly control Congress.

O’Rourke also took aim at Abbott, saying the governor is “using the border right now as a photo opportunity, scapegoating and vilifying immigrants, asking Texans to, quote, ‘defend themselves’ and take matters into their own hands from this ‘invasion,’ as he describes it.”

Biden has faced criticism from Democrats and Republicans over immigration and border issues. Arrests at the U.S.-Mexico border have reached record levels in recent months.

Asked whether he would welcome Biden to Texas to help him campaign, O’Rourke suggested he would not, saying: “This campaign in Texas is not going to be about Joe Biden. It’s not going to be about Donald Trump. It’s not going to be about anyone from outside of our state.”

Trump, known for a hardline approach on immigration, last year defeated Biden in Texas while losing the presidential election nationally.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and Biden have pledged to create a working group on arms trafficking and related transborder crime and border security, the White House said on Friday.

Biden has kept in place a controversial order, first implemented by his Republican predecessor Trump last year, that allows migrants to be immediately expelled without an opportunity to seek asylum in light of the pandemic.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Will Dunham)

Defense lawyer Mark Richards has noticed several politicians have been attempting to cash in on his young client’s high profile name and offered him jobs since his recent court win. Frankly, the attorney claims he finds it “disgusting.”

KYLE RITTENHOUSE ‘TERMINATED’ CONTROVERSIAL CIVIL LAWYER JOHN PIERCE DAYS BEFORE HIS DEFENSE ATTORNEY REVEALED TEEN IS IN A ‘SAFE HOUSE’

“There’s a lot of people trying to profit on this, and I don’t think people should,” he told Insider. “They’re raising money on it, and you have all these Republican congressmen saying, ‘Come work for me.’ They want to trade on his celebrity, and I think it’s disgusting.”

This comes after Republican representative Paul Gosar tweeted that he wanted to hire Rittenhouse as an intern on November 19.

KYLE RITTENHOUSE GRINS EARS TO EAR AS HE’S WHISKED AWAY FROM KENOSHA COURTHOUSE A FREE MAN FOLLOWING NOT GUILTY VERDICT

“Justice was served for #KyleRittenhouse and he is fully exonerated,” the tweet read. “As I said last year, obviously self-defense. I will arm wrestle @mattgaetz to get dibs for Kyle as an intern.”

Richards also wasn’t happy at all with Donald Trump Jr.‘s brazen comments that he and Gun Owners Of America would be sending Rittenhouse an AR-15 in a since-deleted tweet. “He’s an idiot,” the lawyer told the outlet, referring to the former president’s son. “I don’t have to expand on that because it speaks for itself.”

As OK! previously reported, Rittenhouse was found not guilty on all charges — 1st degree intentional homicide, 1st degree reckless homicide, and attempted 1st degree intentional homicide — in connections with the deaths of Joseph Rosenbaum, and Anthony Huber, and the injuries of Gaige Grosskreutz.

Judge Bruce Schroeder — who has been a continuous topic of controversy for concerning comments he has made throughout the case — praised the jurors after they found the 18-year-old to be free of any responsibility in the fatal shooting.

“All of you – I couldn’t have asked for a better jury to work with, and it has truly been my pleasure,” the judge stated to the court. “I think without commenting on your verdict… the verdict themselves, just in terms of your attentiveness and the cooperation that you gave to us justifies the confidence that the founders of our country placed in you.”

Since the not guilty verdict, protests have erupted from coast to coast in the United States as protesters gather to voice their opinions surrounding the controversial court case.

By Kanishka Singh

(Reuters) – The woman who was engaged to marry Jamal Khashoggi has asked singer Justin Bieber to cancel his scheduled Dec. 5 performance in Saudi Arabia’s second-largest city Jeddah, urging him to not perform for the slain Saudi journalist’s “murderers.”

Hatice Cengiz wrote an open letter to the singer published on Saturday in the Washington Post in which she urged Bieber to cancel the performance to “send a powerful message to the world that your name and talent will not be used to restore the reputation of a regime that kills its critics.”

President Joe Biden’s administration released a U.S. intelligence report in February implicating Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Khashoggi’s 2018 murder in Istanbul but spared him any direct punishment. The crown prince denies any involvement.

“Do not sing for the murderers of my beloved Jamal,” Cengiz wrote. “Please speak out and condemn his killer, Mohammed bin Salman. Your voice will be heard by millions.”

Bieber, who is Canadian, is among a group of artists scheduled to perform as Saudi Arabia hosts the Formula One Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in Jeddah.

“If you refuse to be a pawn of MBS, your message will be loud and clear: I do not perform for dictators. I choose justice and freedom over money,” Cengiz wrote, using the crown prince’s initials.

Human rights groups have urged the performers to speak out against human rights issues in the kingdom.

“Saudi Arabia has a history of using celebrities and major international events to deflect scrutiny from its pervasive abuses,” Human Rights Watch said on Wednesday.

The advocacy group urged the performers, who also include rapper A$AP Rocky, DJs David Guetta and Tiesto and singer Jason Derulo, “to speak out publicly on rights issues or, when reputation-laundering is the primary purpose, not participate.”

Khashoggi, a Saudi-born U.S. resident who wrote opinion columns for the Washington Post critical of the Saudi crown prince, was killed and dismembered by a team of operatives linked to the prince in the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Will Dunham)

His latest work is his biggest yet, emblazoned on a dam and stretching the length of six or seven football pitches.

It took Klaus Dauven, 55, and his team of eight multiple weeks of work including 2,500 laser reference points in the French region of Vouglans.

In July, they lost two weeks worth of work because of storms.

“After the rains, we had to start from the beginning,” he said. But now “La Foret” (The Forest) is finished.

However, Dauven didn’t use any paint. Instead, he worked with what was already there. The artist, now safely back home in Germany, is a pioneer of a new art form called ‘reverse graffiti.’

“My works of art can sometimes be pretty large,” he says.

Dauven got his start in classic art, not in the street art scene, but is now following in the tradition of Harald Naegeli, the Sprayer of Zurich, a classically trained artist who made a reputation with his graffiti in the Swiss city.

But Dauven has his own method. Reverse graffiti is not about painting, but using streams of high-pressure water – around 250 bars’ worth – to wipe decades of layers of dirt and patina right off a wall. Instead of spray cans or paint brushes, Dauven uses pressure washers to create his works, which appear like silhouettes looming large.

He has not invented reverse graffiti, Dauven acknowledges. “Paul ‘Moose’ Curtis of England came up with the idea independently of me at about the same time,” he says. That time was 1997, when Dauven, studying art in Dusseldorf and Muenster, had his brainstorm.

At the time, he was working on a 2 metre-by-2 metre roll of paper that got covered in charcoal dust.

“The drawing got ruined. But, as I sucked up the dust with a vacuum cleaner, the idea presented itself.”

Since then, the art form has been gaining recognition.

“Reverse graffiti is conceptually and, in the eyes of the building owner, the more bearable form of graffiti,” says art researcher Gregor Jansen, head of the Dusseldorfer Kunsthalle art museum.

“Thanks to the effect of the negative, the removing, a switch is made. The visual message is laid bar,” he says. From his perspective, reverse graffiti is the more interesting version of the two art forms.

Because Dauven’s art is time-intensive and hard to sell, it usually requires support from sponsors to come into being. For example, a German producer of high-pressure cleaners subsidizes him when he is working – like he was in France – with a team of industrial climbers, multiple helpers and a 100-metre-long water hose.

Despite all the hurdles, the German artist has managed to produce major works in France, Germany, Japan and South Korea. He has created his images on bridges, dams and breakwaters, depicting plants, animals and faces. He says his choice of subject is usually inspired by the area surrounding the structure he is about to work on.

Dauven’s work can be ephemeral, depending on the weather conditions it is exposed to.

“It depends on the gradient of the walls, the direction it is facing and the climate. In Japan, a drawing I did on a dam was completely gone after two years. In the Eifel region [on the French-German border] it last five to six years.”

There was also a work in the German city of Cologne that was removed, but Dauven points out that that wasn’t his, but rather a reverse graffiti piece put up by an artist working under the name seiLeise (beQuiet).

To make sure they’re not gone forever, Dauven documents his graffiti with photographs, which are then collected in bound works.

Another key factor that separates his work from graffiti is the amount of acceptance it receives.

“It also appeals to the people who aren’t so attuned to art. They’re not hostile to me,” he says.

By Kacper Pempel and Alan Charlish

BRUZGI, Belarus/WARSAW (Reuters) -President Alexander Lukashenko said on Monday Belarus seeks no confrontation with Poland but wants the European Union to take in 2,000 of the migrants stranded on its border, and he added that if the crisis deteriorated “too far, war is unavoidable”.

The European Union accuses Belarus of flying in thousands of people from the Middle East and pushing them to cross into the EU via Poland, Lithuania and Latvia in retaliation for EU sanctions imposed on Minsk over Lukashenko’s crushing of protests against his disputed re-election last year.

Lukashenko denies fomenting the migrant crisis, but EU countries including Germany on Monday again rejected his call on them to accept migrants in limbo at the frontier.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Sunday that the crisis might be a prelude to “something much worse”, and Poland’s border guard said Belarusian forces were still ferrying migrants to the frontier.

Lukashenko, as quoted by the state-owned Belta news agency, said he did not want things to escalate.

“We need to get through to the Poles, to every Pole, and show them that we’re not barbarians, that we don’t want confrontation. We don’t need it. Because we understand that if we go too far, war is unavoidable,” he said.

“And that will be a catastrophe. We understand this perfectly well. We don’t want any kind of flare-up.”

‘NOT ACCEPTABLE’

The plan proposed by Belarus last week would entail EU countries, particularly Germany, taking in some 2,000 migrants, while Minsk would send another 5,000 migrants back home, and Lukashenko said Belarus was preparing a second migrant repatriation flight at the end of this month.

In the face of a rebuff from Germany and the EU’s executive commission, Lukashenko said on Monday he must insist Germany – the preferred destination of many migrants – take in a number of them. He said the EU was not engaging with Minsk on the issue.

“They don’t even look at it (the problem). And even what she (German Chancellor Angela Merkel) promised me – contacts. They are not even getting in touch.”

But a German government spokesman repeated Berlin’s refusal.

“The idea of having a humanitarian corridor to Germany for 2,000 migrants is not a solution that is acceptable to Germany or the EU,” the spokesperson said.

Austrian Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg told a news conference: “The EU must not give in to blackmail from Lukashenko. We have to respond united and very clearly to this state-sponsored hybrid attack on the European Union.”

A group of around 150 migrants tried to break through the border fence near the Polish village of Dubicze Cerkiewne on Sunday, the Polish border guard said.

THREAT TO CUT TRAIN LINK

Poland has threatened to sever a train link with Belarus if the situation does not improve, and Lukashenko was quoted as saying that threat could backfire.

Rail traffic could be diverted to run through a conflict zone in eastern Ukraine in such a scenario, he said.

“It is Mr Lukashenko and the Belarusian regime that caused the entire problem at the border…It is up to Mr Lukashenko what will happen next,” Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Marcin Przydacz said. “The EU…can find a way to trade with eastern European and Asian partners without Belarus.”

The Polish Economic Institute (PIE) said any closure of the border to train freight would be more costly for Belarus as exports account for up to 70% of its gross domestic product.

Poland’s government spokesman said no decision had been taken on the closure, though that option was on the table.

Humanitarian agencies say as many as 13 migrants have died at the border, where many have suffered in a cold, damp forest with little food or water as a frigid winter sets in.

Poland said Belarusian forces were still ferrying migrants to the frontier, despite clearing the main migrant camps along the barbed-wire boundary last week. Many of the migrants have now been placed in a Belarusian warehouse near the border.

(Reporting by Maria Kiselyova, Matthias Williams, Alan Charlish, Pawel Florkiewicz, Andrius Sytas, Francois Murphy; writing by Ingrid Melander and Alan Charlish; editing by Mark Heinrich)

By Zainah El-Haroun

BETHLEHEM, West Bank (Reuters) – The trickle of tourists is sometimes scarcely enough to fill a manger, let alone an inn, but Bethlehem’s Palestinians are hopeful that numbers will rise in the month before Christmas.

The traditional birthplace of Jesus was all but shuttered by the pandemic last year, ravaging the tourism-dependent economy and leading some hoteliers to consider selling up.

But this year Israel has eased curbs on foreign tourists in time for Christmas, although everyone remains wary of a winter coronavirus wave.

While grateful for the return of some foreign tourists and Christian Palestinians from the West Bank and Israel, it is a far cry from the 3.5 million visitors who came in winter 2019, just before the pandemic.

“Of course the numbers are very few, but as a start, as a beginning, I think it’s good,” Palestinian tourism minister Rula Maayah told Reuters. “Hopefully very soon these few hundreds will be a few thousand.”

The reduced numbers have at least improved the experience for those who are there.

One of just three wise tourists standing in an otherwise-deserted Manger Square on Nov. 17, Danish pilgrim Trina Dybkjaer said their timing seemed ideal.

“I came to see where Jesus was born,” she said, looking up at the half-decorated Christmas tree outside the Church of the Nativity.

“I can almost feel the history of how it was back then. It hasn’t been, at least today, destroyed by a lot of tourists.”

Bethlehem’s municipality scaled back the town’s Christmas market last year and banned most spectators from the tree-lighting ceremony.

But Mayor Anton Salman said this year’s celebration will proceed as normal on Dec. 4, with visitors asked to wear masks. He expected around 15,000 people, mostly Palestinians.

Across Bethlehem, souvenir-sellers and hoteliers say they are struggling to make a living.

“We have Christmas reservations from Britain, Colombia, the U.S., all over, we can’t complain about that,” said Joey Canavati, manager of Nativity Street’s Alexander Hotel.

“We just don’t know what will happen next week, or next month – will there be another COVID wave? Will everything shut down again?”

(Zainah El-Haroun reported from Bethlehem; Writing by Rami Ayyub; Editing by Stephen Farrell and Giles Elgood)

MEGA

The 18-year-old accused killer hired Pierce and Wood in the beginning to handle his case but later fired them before alleging the two of misappropriating the funds meant to assist him in fighting the legal proceedings.

However, the two lawyers who helped raise the money to free him from jail while he waited for his trials are demanding their money back.

On Friday, Rittenhouse was acquitted of all charges after shooting three Black Lives Matter protestors, killing two of them, and injuring another in Kenosha, Wisconsin, last year. He argued he acted in self-defense during the fatal shooting.

Prior to his trial, he was released from jail after his former attorney posted the $2 million bond with a cashier’s check from his law firm. Many supporters who believe he was innocent have donated to the fund, including child actor Ricky Schroder and My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell.

After a case was dismissed in Wisconsin, the bond would be refunded to the party that made the payment, which appeared to be Pierce’s law firm.

“I suspect there will be a fight over that,” Richards claimed. “John Pierce is the person who posted the bond. All that money was raised on behalf of Kyle. Lin Wood and FightBack say they are entitled to it.”

 

Richards revealed Rittenhouse’s mother had also played a part in the fundraising, which could cause a further dispute.

“There was half a million dollars I think that came directly from [Kyle’s mother] Wendy Rittenhouse from money she raised,” Rittenhouse’s current attorney added. “So there’s going to be a fight over that, and I’m just thankful there will be a fight over it.”

AsRadar previously reported, Rittenhouse fell to the floor and burst into tears after the judge read his verdict, marking the day of his freedom.

In 2020, he traveled to the BLM protest and used his semiautomatic rifle to fatally shoot Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony M. Huber. Another victim Gaige Grosskreutz survived the shot.

 

Huber’s family released a statement to express their disapproval after learning about the judge’s ruling.

“Today’s verdict means there is no accountability for the person who murdered our son,” the statement read. “It sends the unacceptable message that armed civilians can show up in any town, incite violence, and then use the danger they have created to justify shooting people in the street.”

The “Baby, One More Time” singer took to social media to blast old pal Christina Aguilera for seemingly refusing to talk to a reporter about Spears’ recent conservatorship win at the 2021 Latin Grammy Awards.

BRITNEY SPEARS WOULD NOT ALLOW LYNNE SPEARS INTO HER HOME AFTER HER MOTHER FLEW FROM LOUISIANA TO LOS ANGELES TO SEE HER: REPORT

When asked for her thoughts, Aguilera’s publicist immediately shut down the line of questioning and she was quickly led away. “I can’t, but I’m happy for her,” Xtina managed to get out before she was rushed off to prepare for her performance.

Spears shared the clip to her Instagram Story with the caption: “I love and adore everyone who supported me…but refusing to speak when you know the truth, is equivalent to a lie !!!! 13 years being in a corrupt abusive system yet why is it such a hard topic for people to talk about ??? I’m the one who went through it all !!!!”

Though the Princess of Pop clearly interpreted her rushed comment negatively, the “Candyman” singer has in fact been vocal about the unfairness of the oppressive 13 year conservatorship.

BRITNEY SPEARS ‘THINKING’ ABOUT HAVING A BABY WITH HUNKY FIANCÉ SAM ASGHARI AS THE LOVEBIRDS PREPARE FOR THEIR UPCOMING WEDDING

The 40-year-old shared a long message of support for her childhood friend on Twitter on June 28. “These past few days I’ve been thinking about Britney and everything she is going through. It is unacceptable that any woman, or human, wanting to be in control of their own destiny might not be allowed to live life as they wish.”

“To be silenced, ignored, bullied or denied support by those ‘close’ to you is the most depleting, devastating and demeaning thing imaginable,” she continued. “The harmful mental and emotional damage this can take on a human spirit is nothing to be taken lightly.”

But not everyone is on the 39-year-old pop star’s bad side. The “Toxic” singer profusely thanked Lady Gaga for her continued love and support following her grueling conservatorship battle.

“Thank you @ladygaga for genuinely taking your time to say something so kind,” she captioned her Instagram Story. “You made me cry !!! I love you !!!”

TheA Star Is Born actress replied with a fresh-faced selfie captioned: “Love you @britneyspears Live your best life I prayed for the legal system to treat you like a person. You’ve now changed the course for women in this industry forever. You stood up for yourself and were so brave. Thank you.”

(Corrects third paragraph to make clear Rittenhouse did not bring his weapon from Illinois to Wisconsin)

By Joseph Ax

(Reuters) -Kyle Rittenhouse’s acquittal https://www.reuters.com/world/us/jury-rittenhouse-murder-trial-deliberate-fourth-day-2021-11-19 on murder charges on Friday opened yet another front in America’s longstanding fight over gun rights: Is it acceptable for a teenager to bring an assault-style rifle to a protest?

Conservatives hailed Rittenhouse as a hero for exercising his right to self-defense when he fatally shot two demonstrators and wounded a third who he said attacked him last year at a racial justice protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

Gun control advocates warned the jury’s verdict could inspire a new wave of armed vigilantism, after Rittenhouse traveled in August 2020 from his Illinois home to Kenosha after demonstrations erupted following the police shooting of a Black man, Jacob Blake.

Guns have long been a potent political issue in the United States, where permissive laws have led to the highest rate of civilian firearm ownership in the world. Mass shootings, which are far more rare in other wealthy nations, have plagued the country for decades.

Rittenhouse’s decision, at age 17, to roam the streets of Kenosha toting a weapon in the name of protecting private property from rioters struck a particular nerve about just how far gun rights should extend.

“As the tragic events on that night in August showed, a 17-year-old arming himself with an AR-15 makes no one safer,” top officials at Giffords, the gun safety group, said in a statement. “Today’s verdict sends a troubling message that will encourage further vigilante violence and murder.”

Gun rights organizations and Rittenhouse supporters celebrated the outcome as a major victory.

Within minutes of the verdict, the National Rifle Association posted on Twitter the language of the U.S. Constitution’s Second Amendment: “A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.”

Brandon Lesco, who was standing outside the Kenosha courthouse holding a “Free Kyle!” sign, said the verdict was just.

“Someone needs to be there to defend the American towns that people try to burn. I respect that he was there, I respect he carried a weapon, he used it properly, he used it legally. The jurors agree,” said Lesco.

The trial judge earlier this week had dismissed a misdemeanor charge against Rittenhouse for illegally possessing the rifle he used in the shootings, citing vagueness in the law.

‘UNACCEPTABLE MESSAGE’

Liberals denounced Rittenhouse’s acquittal as further evidence of a racially biased criminal justice system. Rittenhouse, like the men he shot, is white.

“That a white male youth can travel across state lines, armed with an assault rifle, and engage in armed confrontation resulting in multiple deaths without facing criminal accountability, is the all too familiar outcome in a country where systemic racism continues to rot the system,” Margaret Huang, president and CEO of the Southern Poverty Law Center, said in a statement.

Some legal experts were careful to draw a distinction between the specific facts of Rittenhouse’s case and the broader message it might send.

Prosecutors had a high bar to clear to convince jurors that Rittenhouse did not reasonably fear for his life at the time he fired, according to Janine Geske, a former Wisconsin Supreme Court justice. Under state law, he was legally permitted to carry his weapon openly.

But Geske said she worried the trial will teach the wrong lesson: “When you’re out protesting or counter-protesting, it is perfectly fine to bring loaded weapons to ‘protect yourself.’ We’re going to have substantial issues of who’s defending themselves, when you’ve got two people with a gun?”

That sentiment was echoed by Karen Bloom and John Huber, the parents of Anthony Huber, one of the men killed by Rittenhouse.

“It sends the unacceptable message that armed civilians can show up in any town, incite violence, and then use the danger they have created to justify shooting people in the street,” they said in a statement.

(Reporting by Joseph Ax; Additional reporting by Maria Caspani, Nathan Layne, Mike Scarcella and Barbara Goldberg; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Daniel Wallis)