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Published by AlterNet Donald Trump Junior this weekend suggested that the person or persons who planted pipebombs at the Democratic and Republican National Committee headquarters immediately before the January 6th, 2021 Capitol insurrection do not exist. Junior explained that he believes this because there were no arrests or significant coverage of the thwarted attacks in the news. “They had the insurrection narrative. You notice how the, the ‘bombers’ at the DNC and at the RNC – the guy that left pipe bombs there – just sort of disappeared from the news. It’s like, you know what? In case there wasn’t an insurrecti… Read More View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Cara Delevingne struggled with being herself and revealing her secrets on ‘Planet Sex’. The model, 30, released the BBC Three series earlier this year, which saw her explore her sexuality and touch herself on camera. She told Vogue magazine’s April issue about its making: “It was super personal and I didn’t really realise how personal it would be. “I’d only really learned how to show emotion when I was acting because I didn’t feel worthy enough to feel those things as myself. “With ‘Planet Sex’, I was just so uncomfortable in front of the camera in the beginning because it was like, ‘Oh, God, I’ve gotta be myself.’” The show sees Cara, who is dating singer Leah Mason, 31, aka Minke, being moved to the point of tears at the end of her first day on location at the Dinah Shore Weekend in Palm Springs, billed as the world’s largest festival for queer women. She says on the first episode of the show: “I still struggle with being open—really open—about just how much I love women.” The couple who directed the docuseries, Jessica Chermayeff and Ana Veselic, told Vogue about being overwhelmed by Cara’s willingness to be open. Jessica said: “I think a lot of celebrities say they’re on a personal journey, but with her it was more than just lip service. “She was scared in all the right ways.” Ana added “Cara was very open. Not everything was this perfect platitude statement, this neat little answer that checks all the boxes. “There were definitely grey areas. As a viewer, I really miss that in conversations like this, because it’s not black and white.” View the full article

Published by PsyPost People who are more engaged with communities that push abstinence from masturbation tend to feel more suicidal after a perceived “relapse,” according to new research published in the journal Sexualities. The authors of the new study sought to investigate potential harms associated with the so-called “Reboot” community, who believe they can reset their body to a healthier state by abstaining from pornography and masturbation. Members of this mostly online community think that masturbation has harmful effects and that abstaining from it can help alleviate conditions such as erectile dysfunction … Read More View the full article

Published by St. Louis Post-Dispatch ST. LOUIS — More than a dozen people gathered Sunday afternoon on the edge of Forest Park to protest the medical treatment of transgender adolescents at a clinic across the street. Washington University’s Transgender Center at St. Louis Children’s Hospital has been under intense scrutiny since accusations of negligence and malpractice by a former employee were made public last month. Organizer Teresa Folds of St. Louis said she formed her group, the St. Louis Gender Critical Alliance, on Feb. 1. About a week later, the Free Press published an online narrative by Jamie Reed, who was a case mana… Read More View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Jamie Lee Curtis is “concerned” making awards gender neutral will “diminish the opportunities for women”. The 64-year-old actress – whose child Ruby came out as transgender in 2021 – acknowledged how “very difficult” it is to promote inclusivity with gendered categories but is unsure of how best to tackle the subject without shutting out females. Asked how she felt to have made this year’s list of female nominees, Jamie said backstage at Sunday’s (12.03.23) Academy Awards – where she won the Best Actress in a Supporting Role for ‘Everything Everywhere All At Once’ – it was a “surreal and proud” experience. But she added to reporters at Los Angeles’ Dolby Theatre: “Obviously, I would like to see a lot more women be nominated so that there’s gender parity in all the areas, in all the branches. And I think we’re getting there. “We’re not anywhere near there, and of course inclusivity then involves the bigger question which is, how do you include everyone when there are binary choices? Which is very difficult. “As the mother of a trans daughter, I completely understand that. “And yet to de-gender the [categories] also, I’m concerned will diminish the opportunities for more women, which is something I also have been working hard to try to promote.” Jamie Lee reiterated the importance of “inclusivity” generally and of including women specifically, in Hollywood and wider society. She added: “Basically just f***ing more women anywhere, any time.” Earlier in the evening, Jamie insisted winning her first Oscar was recognition for more than just her. She said: “I know it looks like I’m here by myself but I am not, I am hundreds of people, The Daniels, Jonathan, Ley Line, the entire crew, my bae Michelle, Ke, Steph, the group of artists who made this movie – we just won an Oscar. “To my dream team, we just won an Oscars. “To my family, my beautiful husband Christopher Guest, our daughters Annie and Ruby, my sister Kelly, we just won an Oscar. “To all of the people who have supported the genre movies I have made these years, the hundreds of thousands of people, we just won an Oscar together. She then grew emotional as she paid tribute to her famous parents, Janet Leigh and Tony Curtis. She added: “And my mother and father were both nominated for Oscars in different categories. I just won an Oscar.” View the full article

Published by IntelliNews By Tamas Csonka in Budapest The US ambassador in Hungary has warned Viktor Orban’s regime that its equidistant stance between its Nato allies and the Kremlin is unacceptable. ‘Hungary has reached an important moment in determining its future path. As Russia’s unjustifiable war rages next door, the time is now for a stronger relationship between Hungary and its transatlantic allies and partners,’ the US embassy in Hungary said in a statement after a meeting between Ambassador David Pressman and Secretary of State Antony Blinken on March 10. The US has become increasingly worried by anti-America… Read More View the full article

Published by AFP Jorge Bergoglio became pope in March 2013 after Benedict XVI's surprise resignation Vatican City (AFP) – Pope Francis marked 10 years as head of the Catholic Church on Monday with a podcast, a private mass and a series of interviews, one of which triggered a diplomatic spat with Nicaragua. “It seems like yesterday,” the 86-year-old recalled of his election during a podcast for the official Vatican News outlet — after first having to be told what a podcast was. Asked what he would like as a gift for his 10-year anniversary, for which he had no public plans beyond a mass with cardinals, Francis added: “Peace. We need peace.” Jorge Bergoglio was elected pope on March 13, 2013, after his predecessor Benedict XVI stunned the world by becoming the first pope to resign since the Middle Ages. He has said he never expected to be elected, only packing a small suitcase to travel from Argentina to Rome for the conclave on the assumption he would soon be back in Buenos Aires, where he was archbishop. But he had a vision, and over the next decade he would overhaul the governance of the Church, including cleaning up the Vatican books and taking action against clerical child abuse. He also shifted many people’s perception of the papacy by engaging less in theology and more with social issues from migration to the environment. And even while maintaining traditional doctrine on issues such as abortion and gay marriage, he has sought to forge an image of a more open, compassionate Church. Nicaragua row “He is a Pope for this time,” said Italian priest Father Roberto, who travelled to Saint Peter’s Square to hear the pope deliver his weekly Angelus prayer on Sunday. “He managed to grasp today’s needs and to propose them to the whole universal Church… And now he’s giving the Church a push forward for the years to come. He is sowing good for the future.” However, not everyone is enamoured of Francis’ approach, notably the conservative wing of the Catholic Church. One critic, German Cardinal Gerhard Mueller, recently criticised the pope’s “doctrinal confusion”. Francis has never shied away from controversy, regularly using his pulpit to rail against everything from the mafia to consumerism and the arms industry. In one of his anniversary interviews, with Argentine news outlet Infobae, he described the government of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega as a “crude dictatorship”. Ortega’s government — which has long had tensions with the Catholic Church — responded on Sunday by saying it was considering suspending diplomatic ties with the Vatican. In another interview, with Swiss broadcaster RTS last week, the pope denounced the involvement of all the “great powers” in the Ukraine war. He prays regularly for the victims of the war, although he has been criticised for failing to squarely put the blame on Russia as the aggressor. ‘It’s not easy’ Pope Francis has sought to improve ties with Islam during his papacy, and Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, the grand imam of Cairo’s prestigious Al-Azhar mosque, was one of those who sent their congratulations on his 10-year milestone. In a letter published by Vatican News, al-Tayeb hailed the pope’s efforts to “build bridges of love and fraternity among all human beings”. Messages of congratulations also came in from Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians, and Anglican leader Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury. Welby joined Francis on a recent peace mission to conflict-ridden South Sudan, where huge crowds flocked to see the pontiff, as they do everywhere he goes. The pope continues to travel widely, despite his age and health issues. Francis was hospitalised in 2021 for colon surgery and now uses a wheelchair due to knee trouble — something he admitted in one interview he was “a little ashamed” about. The pope has said he would follow Benedict in resigning if he ever became too infirm for the job but insists that is not on his agenda. Asked by Italian newspaper Il Fatto Quotidiano what his hopes for the future were, he replied: “That the Lord be merciful with me. Being the pope is not an easy job.” View the full article

Published by Raw Story A Texas lawmaker wants to introduce a bill that would effectively allow bounty hunting against drag performers in the state, reported LGBTQ magazine The Advocate Houston-area state Rep. Steve Toth filed the bill on Thursday. “According to the bill, ‘An individual who attends a drag performance as a minor may bring an action against a person who knowingly promotes, conducts, or participates as a performer in the drag performance that occurs before an audience that includes the minor,'” the Advocate reported. Under this law, attendees could sue for actual damages, attorney’s fees, and statutory … Read More View the full article

Published by Reuters By Sarah N. Lynch WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Hate crimes surged by 11.6% in 2021 from 2020, with the most frequent ones fueled by racial, ethnic and ancestral bias, the FBI said on Monday. The release on Monday of the FBI’s new analysis marks the first time the bureau has been able to confidently report on national trends in hate crimes since it transitioned to a new data collection system. Uniform crime data released by the FBI in October 2022 contained gaps, with only 52% of U.S. law enforcement agencies reporting a full 12 months of 2021 information. For its supplemental report, FBI officials said they were able to retroactively include crime data from some of the country’s largest cities that had not yet made the switch to the new reporting format. That meant that some large cities such as Los Angeles and New York City are now included in its hate crime report, which compares trends between 2020 and 2021. Meanwhile, Chicago was able to provide two quarters worth of data for the report. FBI officials said they typically track the 130 most populous cities across 16 states to identify statistically significant trends. Out of the 130 cities, 96 were able to provide the FBI with crime summary data for the new hate crimes report. Officials said the top five hate crime categories reported for 2021 were anti-Black, anti-white, anti-gay male, anti-Jewish and anti-Asian. (Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; Editing by Mark Porter) View the full article

Published by Raw Story The family of the author of “This Land Is Your Land” has called on Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) to stop using the song’s lyrics. The Kansas City Star reported Nora Guthrie, daughter of singer Woody Guthrie, wrote an email asking Hawley to stop using the song to promote his “This Land is Our Land Act,” which would prevent U.S. farmland from being owned by anyone associated with the Chinese Communist Party. Guthrie said politicians have long used “This Land Is Your Land” to promote their campaigns and the U.S. “In this particular case, the co-opting or parodying of the lyric by those not aligned with… Read More View the full article

Published by Reuters By Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. House of Representatives voted unanimously on Friday to require Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines to declassify information on the origins of COVID-19, increasing pressure on President Joe Biden’s administration to allow its release. The vote was 419 to 0 in favor. Since the Senate on March 1 passed the bill – by unanimous consent – it now goes to the White House for Biden to sign into law or veto. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on his intentions. Washington has been conducting a highly politicized debate about the origins of the coronavirus pandemic almost since the first human cases were reported in the Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019, amid calls from both Democrats and Republicans to push back harder against a rising China. The debate was refueled last month, when the Wall Street Journal first reported that the U.S. Energy Department had concluded the pandemic likely arose from a Chinese laboratory leak, an assessment Beijing denies. The department made its judgment with “low confidence” in a classified intelligence report, the Journal said. Four other U.S. agencies still judge that COVID-19 was likely the result of natural transmission, while two are undecided. Biden administration officials have said the pandemic’s origins may never be known. China said claims that a laboratory leak likely caused the pandemic have no credibility. “The American people need to know all the aspects, including how this virus was created and specifically was the natural occurrence the result of a lab-related event?” Representative Mike Turner, the Republican chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said as he urged support for the measure. Representative Jim Himes, the panel’s top Democrat, called the bill an important first step. “I hope it will clear up some of the speculation, some of the rumors that are out there,” he said. (Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Bill Berkrot) View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English ‘Blonde’ was named Worst Picture at the Razzie Awards on Friday (10.03.23) night. The Marilyn Monroe biopic scooped the dubious honour ahead of ‘Good Mourning’, ‘Pinocchio’, ‘The King’s Daughter’ and ‘Morbius’ at the annual Golden Raspberry Awards – which honour the worst in film – as well as Worst Screenplay for writer-director Andrew Dominick. Awards bosses said ‘Blonde’ – which was nominated for eight Razzies – was “misogynistic, salacious and fallacious” and “shamelessly exploits the memory of the late Marilyn Monroe.” Meanwhile, Tom Hanks took home Worst Supporting Actor and Worst Screen Combo – for himself and “his latex face” – for his work on ‘Elvis’, with organisers noting the Hollywood favourite has “spent his career stretching his acting capabilities to great success, went a bridge too far with his version of Col. Tom Parker in the otherwise excellent biopic ‘Elvis’.” Tom was also nominated for Worst Actor for his turn in ‘Pinocchio’ but was beaten to the dubious prize by ‘Morbius’ star Jared Leto, whose co-star Adria Arjona was given Worst Supporting Actress. The Razzies themselves were handing the Worst Actress prize, taking an award for the first time in their history following their well-criticised decision to include 12-year-old Ryan Kiera Armstrong in the category for her performance in movie flop ‘Firestarter’, which they later withdrew. Razzies co-founder John Wilson previously said of the decision: “Sometimes, you do things without thinking, Then you are called out for it. Then you get it. It’s why the Razzies were created in the first place. “The recent valid criticism of the choice of 11 year old Armstrong as a nominee for one of our awards brought our attention to how insensitive we’ve been in this instance. “As a result, we have removed Armstrong’s name from the Final Ballot that our members will cast next month. We also believe a public apology is owed Ms. Armstrong, and wish to say we regret any hurt she experienced as a result of our choices.” Golden Raspberry Awards 2023 list of winners: Worst Picture: ‘Blonde’ Worst Actor: Jared Leto – ‘Morbius’ Worst Actress: The Razzies (for ‘Their 43rd Worst Actress Nominations Blunder’) Razzie Redeemer Award: Colin Farrell (From 2004 Worst Actor nominee to 2022 Best Actor Oscar Front-Runner) Worst Supporting Actor: Tom Hanks – ‘Elvis’ Worst Supporting Actress: Adria Arjona – ‘Morbius’ Worst Screen Combo: Tom Hanks and His Latex-Laden Face (and That Ludicrous Accent) – ‘Elvis’ Worst Remake, Rip-Off or Sequel: Disney’s ‘Pinocchio’ Worst Directors: Machine Gun Kelly and Mod Sun – ‘Good Mourning’ Worst Screenplay: ‘Blonde’, Written for the Screen by Andrew Dominik View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English James Norton believes society is “scared of the penis”. The 37-year-old actor is set to bare all in new play ‘A Little Life’ and while he’s ready for the nude scenes, he is unsure if the audience will be, though he believes the sexes have different approaches to seeing genitalia. He told the Daily Telegraph newspaper: “There’s still a block when it comes to male nudity, about the penis, and what it looks like, and its size and its shape – and all these things of which we as a culture are still very wary. “We’re scared of the penis. Men, I think, we’re far more obsessed with it. I mean, women I’ve asked are like, ‘I don’t care, you know, it’s just a penis, whatever’.” James insisted going nude on stage is “so justified and so necessary” for the story being told. He said: “But in general, it’s a bit like the violence in this piece and the self-harm: none of it is gratuitous – the nudity is so justified and so necessary in order to find the ultimate shame this man is put through. “Without it, the story and the piece would suffer; none of it is gratuitous. “And I feel it. We did one of the scenes recently and, my god, it’s shaming, you know, I lie on the floor naked being kicked and spat on – and it doesn’t get much more degrading than that. I’m there, there’s no journey I have to go on. It’s really embarrassing and horrible.” But the ‘Happy Valley’ star admitted it has been “very weird” stripping off for rehearsals with co-stars Omari Douglas, Luke Thompson and Zach Wyatt. He said: “We’re rehearsing, so you’re in a very light room – it’s like being in your workplace and just getting naked, which is very weird. “In the theatre, even though there’s going to be a hundred times more people, it will be much easier, with the lights [down] and the atmosphere, it will just make sense. Whereas now, because you’re stopping and starting, it feels more exposing.” View the full article

Published by AFP Demonstrators take part in the annual National Women's March in New York on in January 2023 Houston (AFP) – In a first test of a Texas law that bans nearly all abortions, a man is suing three women he says helped his ex-wife obtain abortion pills to end her pregnancy. The civil lawsuit by plaintiff Marcus Silva relies on a 2022 law that allows wrongful-death suits to be brought against anyone helping someone obtain an abortion. The women who allegedly helped provide the pills — which the suit says “were used to murder baby Silva” — could face fines of more than $1 million each. The suit, filed in district court in Galveston County, is the first to be brought under the Texas law since the Supreme Court last June overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade decision that had long protected abortion rights. It comes as conservative states across the country have moved to ban abortion outright or sharply curtail it — prompting abortion rights activists to step up efforts to ship abortion pills to states with strict bans. Jonathan Mitchell, one of Silva’s lawyers, helped design the novel Texas law, according to the Washington Post. In the suit, Silva alleges that while they were still married, his wife became pregnant in July 2022 but kept it secret. The complaint says two of the defendants used text messages to tell Silva’s wife where she could obtain abortion pills, while the third arranged for their delivery. “You could get them from us or you could order some online,” one message read. A woman identified as Silva’s ex-wife responded, “Your help means the world to me.” Under the Texas law and similar laws in other states, women seeking abortions do not themselves face civil or criminal liability. The Silvas divorced recently. Marcus Silva plans to sue the manufacturer of the mifepristone pill that was allegedly used, the complaint says. Anyone who manufactures or distributes abortion pills, including major drugstores like CVS and Walgreens, “will be sued into oblivion,” one of Silva’s lawyers said in a press release. Silva’s suit comes days after five women in Travis County, Texas sued the state, saying they had been denied abortions despite having dangerous or unviable pregnancies. They said they had been “denied dignified treatment as equal human beings.” Texas now allows abortion only if the mother’s life is in danger. View the full article

Published by OK Magazine mega Though Donald Trump has caught flack for going on quite a few confusing rants, it’s never prompted Kellyanne Conway to refrain from making her own questionable remarks over the past several years. Scroll down to relive seven of her most head-scratching moments. Fake Terrorist Attack In 2017, she attempted to discredit Barack Obama by claiming he was responsible for the “Bowling Green massacre” — an event that never actually took place. “I bet it’s brand new information to people that President Obama had a six-month ban on the Iraqi refugee program after two Iraqis came here to this country, were radicalized and they were the masterminds behind the Bowling Green massacre. It didn’t get covered,” she said on MSNBC’s Hardball. A few days later she apologized for the error. mega Alternative Facts In January 2017, the mom-of-four attempted to defend Sean Spicer‘s false statement about the number of people who attended numbers of Donald Trump’s inauguration. Instead of admitting he lied, the 56-year-old said on Meet the Press, “Sean Spicer, our press secretary, gave alternative facts.” Chuck Todd then pointed out, “Alternative facts are not facts, they’re falsehoods.” mega Side-Stepping Edited Video Claims Kellyanne Conway Slams President Joe Biden Over The ‘Reckless’ Mishandling Of Classified Documents Kellyanne Conway & Husband Confirm They’re ‘In Final Stages Of Divorce’ After Her Trump Allegiance Destroyed 22-Year Marriage Trump Split Confirmed: Kellyanne Conway, Husband George Call It Quits After 22 Year Marriage — How Donald Tore Them Apart In 2018, CNN reporter Jim Acosta found himself in hot water after he allegedly assaulted a White House staffer. The White House released a video of the incident and claimed he was just making a movement to defend himself from the woman, but it was heavily scrutinized that the clip was edited. Conway reacted by saying the video wasn’t “altered,” just “sped up” — though changing the video in anyway is a form of editing. mega COVID-19 Mistakes While discussing the pandemic in early 2020 on Fox News, Conway made it seem that she thought the “19” in COVID-19 meant there were 18 other variations, whereas the number stands for 2019, the year the first person caught the virus. “This is COVID-19, not COVID-1 folks …” she said at the time. Never miss a story — sign up for the OK! newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what OK! has to offer. It’s gossip too good to wait for! Downplaying Racist Terms About COVID-19 The politician defended the controversy over White House staffers and Trump referring to the Coronavirus as “Kung-Flu” and the “Chinese Virus” by trying to downplay that the terms are rooted in racism. “I’m married to an Asian,” she said during an interview. “I’m married to an Asian-American, my kids are 25 percent Filipino.” Insisting Her Estranged Husband’s Social Media Posts Meant Infidelity In her memoir, Conway recalled how going into “fall of 2018,” her husband, George Conway began growing distant, but she didn’t suspect much trouble until a change in his social media activity. “He was spending chunks of time in New York at the firm … spending his nights alone at our house in Alpine, New Jersey, 240 miles away from D.C,” she wrote. “The numbers don’t lie. During this time, the frequency and ferocity of his tweets accelerated. Clearly he was cheating by tweeting. I was having a hard time competing with his new fling.” She also reasoned that his negative tweets about Trump were “violating” their marriage vows. Earlier this month, she confirmed they were parting ways after 22 years as husband and wife. View the full article

Published by AFP Former US vice president Mike Pence said history would hold former president Donald Trump Washington (AFP) – Former US vice president Mike Pence said Saturday that history would hold former president Donald Trump “accountable” for his role in the 2021 attack on the US Capitol, US media reported. The remarks are likely to widen the rift between the former running mates, who have been at loggerheads since Pence refused to go along with Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election results and remain in power. “President Trump was wrong,” Pence said in a speech at the annual Gridiron Dinner in Washington, a white-tie gala put on by journalists that draws top politicians. “I had no right to overturn the election. And his reckless words endangered my family and everyone at the Capitol that day. And I know that history will hold Donald Trump accountable,” Pence was quoted as saying by multiple media outlets. Some of the thousands who stormed the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, called for Pence to be hanged, forcing him to seek a safe location. Trump has already declared his intention to seek a new term as president in 2024 elections, and Pence indicated he may challenge him for the Republican nomination. The Gridiron Dinner is usually a light-hearted event with skits and musical entertainment, and Pence initially sought to poke fun. “I will wholeheartedly, unreservedly support the Republican nominee for president in 2024 — if it’s me,” he said. Near the end of his speech, Pence said there was one issue he would not joke about. “The American people have a right to know what took place at the Capitol on January 6th,” he said, according to The Washington Post newspaper. “But make no mistake about it, what happened that day was a disgrace, and it mocks decency to portray it in any other way.” Pence’s sharp remarks aimed at Trump were unexpected at the gala. “Was at the dinner and can confirm @Mike_Pence definitely caught the room by surprise–lots of dropped jaws,” tweeted Maryam Mujica, a former State Department official. View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Kim Petras took a trip to Disneyland on a rare day off. The 30-year-old singer – who was born in Germany but now lives in London – has been left “exhausted” after enjoying huge success with Sam Smith over their Grammy Award-winning single ‘Unholy’ and revealed that she missed her annual trips to Disneyland Paris so much that she decided to go there on her day off. Speaking on ‘Table Manners’ podcast, she told hosts Jessie and Lennie Ware: “I’m exhausted, I also do it to myself though. Yesterday was my day off and I was like ‘Let’s go to Paris, let’s go to Disneyland!’ Yeah, we did, we did. I had to, I grew up in Germany and Disneyland Paris was every single vacation we would go on and I haven’t been since before the pandemic.” The ‘Coconuts’ hitmaker went on to reveal her favourite rides from the theme park in the French capital and because the trip took place the day after the BRIT Awards she had to sleep on the train after getting to bed so late. She added: “I love ‘It’s a Small World’ but we didn’t go. My favourite one is The Haunted Mansion. I love anything fast so we went on all the fast rides. “I bought ears, I got the ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ ears. It says ‘I am Groot!’ on the back. I went to bed at like 2:30am and got up at 6am, so yeah I didn’t get much. I slept on the train. View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Cynthia Erivo is “working out a lot” as she prepares to film ‘Wicked.’ The 36-year-old actress is to star as misunderstood green girl Elphaba in the upcoming two-part adaptation of the smash hit Broadway musical – which tells the backstory of ‘The Wizard of Oz’ – alongside pop star Ariana Grande as Glinda and explained the lengths she has been going to as she prepares to tackle big songs like ‘Defying Gravity’ and ‘No Good Deed.’ She told ScreenRant: “Oh, there’s a lot that goes into it. You might see me working out a lot on my Instagram, and that is a real thing, because I need to keep my brain and my body super-focused. I have a wonderful vocal coach who is the most helpful woman I could possibly wish for, and she’s been doing this with me. “There’s the conversations that we’ve been having, both with myself and Ariana and with myself and the director. Even the costume designer; hair and makeup. It’s a really collaborative effort to create these women in this world, and that’s how we’ve been prepping for it.” The ‘Genius: Aretha ‘ star went on to add that the blockbuster – which is being directed by Jon M. Chu and is slated to release the first movie on Christmas Day 2024 – is going to be “really special” as she admitted that the “every little detail” of the stage-to-screen adaptation is being considered. She added: “We’re in it right now.; we’re deep in it. We’re making it, and every little detail is thought about. Every moment is thought about, and I’m so excited for people to get their eyes on it once it’s done. I think it’s gonna be really special. It’s definitely been special to me, and we’ve had some really wonderful moments doing it.” View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Kylie Minogue believes that Michael Hutchence returned a ring to her from beyond the grave, The 54-year-old pop superstar dated INXS rocker Michael – who died in 1997 at the age of 37 – in the early 1990s and was horrified at the thought that someone may have taken a piece of jewellery he gifted her when it vanished from her house but explained that it was one day returned to her by an “anonymous” sender. She told The Sunday Times: “I was given a ring by Michael Hutchence when we were dating. It went missing from my house, and I hated the idea that someone I knew had ‘taken’ it. A long time later and after his passing, it was posted back to me anonymously in an envelope. I think that he, in an otherworldly way, returned it to me.” Meanwhile, the ‘Spinning Around’ legend- who shot to fame as mechanic Charlene Mitchell in Aussie soap opera ‘Neighbours’ in the 1980s – went on to add that she will “always miss” the car she drove to work in before admitting that she “loves” to be transported on the back of a motorbike. She added: “I’ll always miss my first car, a Datsun 1200 Coupé, in which I’d zoom to work in Neighbours. And I love to be on the back of a motorbike. Such freedom! “I’ve had the pleasure of sailing along the Italian coast and around Corsica. A whale and her calf joined us for a while. Sublime. [My ultimate escape] is a hot Aussie Christmas. But I have always wanted to see the Northern Lights in Norway.” View the full article

Published by AlterNet MSNBC political and legal analyst Glenn Kirschner is warning Americans Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ threat to democracy, Newsweek reports. In response to author Brynn Tannehill’s Twitter thread outlining the ways DeSantis exudes fascism, Kirschner tweeted, “Great thread here about the danger to democracy posed by DeSantis. Plus, when I saw him say, with a stupid smirk on his face, that, just for fun he, ‘sent 50 illegals to Martha’s Vineyard,’ it reinforced that he’s an inhumane man. Let’s defeat this heartless aspiring autocrat.” In her thread, Tannehill was responding to The Brookings Inst… Read More View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Tim Roth was “moved” by the script for ‘Punch’. The 61-year-old actor played the part of Stan in the drama film that centres on a teenage boxer who is training under the watchful eye of his demanding and alcoholic father and admitted he was touched by the script – which was written by director Welby Ings – because his own dad suffered from substance abuse issues. He told Under the Radar magazine: “My father was an alcoholic, and he had incredible PTSD from the Second World War, from fighting in that war when he was a child, when he was 17 through for five years. His journey into adulthood was under incredible stress. He saw things that he could never talk to us about. He self-medicated. Which was something I saw in my character. The script also dealt with homophobia incredibly well. “That was something Welby knew of personally. Something I recognized from growing up as well. My gay friends, the ones who felt they could speak to me, suffered greatly. The ones who were more open suffered physically. It was a very difficult time. My father would tell me: ‘Remember who was in the death camps alongside the Jews. Homosexuals. The Romani community. And anyone that was ‘the other.’ Always remember that. And that there’s a chance it could come back.’ And that’s still rampant. So I felt the script was very moving. “ The ‘Pulp Fiction’ star went on to add that his character “buries his feelings” but enjoyed that the “simple” drama film actually has a “complicated” undertone. He added: “My character buries his feelings, and has a complex relationship with his son. But he sees a way for his son to get out of the world they’re in and do something. Then, what’s central to the film: the buried sexuality of this boy, and how that emerges. There’s also a crossover into New Zealand’s Māori community. You have so many layers going on. As simple as it is — and I like that it’s simple — it is very, very complicated. So this script one of the ones you do for love, as opposed to keep the roof on. Immediately it was that.” View the full article

Published by Reuters By Arpan Chaturvedi NEW DELHI (Reuters) – The Indian government opposes recognising same-sex marriages, it said in a filing to the Supreme Court on Sunday, urging the court to reject challenges to the current legal framework lodged by LGBT couples. The Ministry of Law believes that while there may be various forms of relationships in society, the legal recognition of marriage is for heterosexual relationships and the state has a legitimate interest in maintaining this, according to the filing seen by Reuters, which has not been made public. “Living together as partners and having sexual relationship by same sex individuals … is not comparable with the Indian family unit concept of a husband, a wife and children,” the ministry argued. The court cannot be asked “to change the entire legislative policy of the country deeply embedded in religious and societal norms”, it said. In a historic verdict in 2018, India’s top court decriminalised homosexuality by scrapping a colonial-era ban on gay sex. The current case is being seen as a further important development on LGBT rights in the country. At least 15 pleas, some by gay couples, have been filed in recent months asking the court to recognise same-sex marriages, setting the stage for this legal face-off with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government. “Sad that their concept of ‘Indian’ is so non-inclusive and static that it does not want to evolve according to wider notions of human rights,” filmmaker and equal rights activist Onir wrote on Twitter. Three lawyers and two petitioners that Reuters reached out to either refused to comment or chose not to respond. CASE MARKS MILESTONE Asia largely lags the West in accepting same-sex marriage. Taiwan was the first in the region to recognise such unions, while same-sex acts are illegal in some countries, such as Malaysia. Singapore last year ended a ban on gay sex but took steps to bar same-sex marriages. Japan is the only country among the Group of Seven nations that does not legally recognise same-sex unions, although the public broadly favours recognition. In India, the issue of same-sex marriage is sensitive: speaking openly about homosexuality is taboo for many in the socially conservative country of 1.4 billion people. The issue has stoked emotions in the media and in parliament, where a member of Modi’s ruling Hindu nationalist party in December asked the government to strongly oppose the petitions filed in the top court. LGBT activists say that while the 2018 ruling affirmed their constitutional rights, it is unjust that they still lack legal backing for their unions, a basic right enjoyed by heterosexual married couples. “We can’t do so many things in the process of living together and building a life together,” one of the litigants in the current case, businessman Uday Raj Anand, told Reuters in December. In Sunday’s filing, the government argued the 2018 ruling cannot mean recognising a fundamental legal right to same-sex marriage under the laws of the country. The intent behind the current legal system on marriage “was limited to the recognition of a legal relationship of marriage between a man and a woman, represented as a husband and wife.” The government has argued that any change to the legal structure should be the domain of the elected parliament, not the court. The cases are set to be heard in the Supreme Court on Monday. (Reporting by Arpan Chaturvedi; Editing by Aditya Kalra and William Mallard) View the full article

Published by OK Magazine mega;@madonna/instagram Give Me All Your Luvin’! Madonna has been searching for a forever flame to “Justify My Love” since she ignited her famous career at the young age of 24-years-old. While the earlier days of her career sparked a brief relationship with Breakfast Club frontmanDan Gilroy from 1979-1981, followed by a fling with late artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, there would be many other loves to cross the Queen of Pop’s path. Keep scrolling to see a list of all the fellas lucky enough to date Madonna! Sean Penn mega Sean Penn was the first man to claim Madonna’s heart with the words, “I Do,” after they met on the set of her legendary “Material Girl” music video. The former spouses tied the knot in 1985 before officially divorcing in 1989. Tupac mega Tupac and the “Like a Virgin” singer were involved in a relationship for roughly a year before he left her in 1994 due to societal pressures at the time. In a letter from prison released by TMZ in 2017, the late rapper wrote a lengthy message to Madonna confessing the reasoning behind their romantic demise. “Can u understand that? For you to be seen with a Black man wouldn’t in any way jeopardize your career. If anything it would make you seem that much more open [and] exciting. But for me at least in my previous perception I felt due to my ‘image’ I would be letting down half of the people who made me what I thought I was. I never meant to hurt you,” Tupac explained in January 1995 before he was fatally shot in September 1996. Dennis Rodman mega Following her and Tupac’s split, Madonna engaged in a two-month relationship with retired Chicago Bulls starDennis Rodman. The NBA legend revealed in his Bad As I Wanna Be memoir that the mother-of-six wanted to conceive a child with him. Carlos Leon mega And here comes baby No. 1! Madonna and her personal trainer, Carlos Leon, dated for three years and welcomed her eldest child, Lourdes Leon, 26, in 1996. Vanilla Ice mega Vanilla Ice may have brought the spice to the award-winning artist’s life, however, he wasn’t ready to commit with a ring. “She even proposed to me,” the rapper confessed during a podcast appearance at the end of January. “I mean things were going so crazy and fast man,” he noted of the couple’s 8-month relationship in 1992. Guy Ritchie Madonna Questions What Life Is ‘Without Friends & Family’ After Death Of Brother & Rumored New Romance Madonna Locks Lips & Confirms Romance With Much-Younger Boxer: See Strange Photos Madonna Cheers On Much-Younger Fling At Boxing Match As Rumors Swirl About His Intentions mega Fans thought Guy Ritchiewould have Madonna’s heart for good. The lovebirds exchanged vows in 2000 and seemed inseparable until their marriage ultimately ended in 2008. They share a biological son, Rocco Ritchie, 22, and adopted son David Banda, 17, together. Alex Rodriguez mega Alex Rodriguez was rumored to have had an affair with the pop star in 2008 following his split from ex-wife Cynthia Scurtis. Brahim Zaibat mega Madonna appeared to enter her much-younger-model phase when she was linked to French dancer and choreographer Brahim Zaibat, then 24, from 2010-2013. They even arrived at the 2013 Met Gala side by side. Ahlamalik Williams mega Madonna’s passionate romance with Ahlamalik Williams convinced fans they were in it for the long hall. The couple first started dating in 2018 and called it quits during the spring of 2022. Andrew Darnell @madonna/Instagram Madonna’s relationship with Andrew Darnell caused quite the controversy, as the 23-year-old model’s young age left a 40-year gap between the two. The couple’s fling was exposed in September 2022 after the lovebirds were seen cuddled up for Labor Day weekend. It was revealed in February that the duo has parted ways — which left Madonna suffering a “crisis of confidence,” as OK! previously reported. “It was only a very casual thing [with Andrew] so she’s not broken-hearted. It’s just that it has come at a bad time,” a source explained to a news publication on Thursday, February 23. Josh Popper @madonna/instagram Madonna has most recently been linked to her son’s boxing coach, Josh Popper, 29. The duo first sparked romance rumors on Wednesday, March 1, as she seemed to confirm their relationship with a steamy smooch shared just one week later. View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Lukas Gage is happy for people to think he’s dating Chris Appleton. The ‘You’ actor has been subject to speculation he’s romancing the celebrity hairstylist after they recently enjoyed a vacation to Mexico and walked the red carpet together at the Vanity Fair and TikTok’s Vanities: A Night for Young Hollywood event in Los Angeles earlier this week, and while he refused to confirm the gossip because he’s struggling with the “weird line” about being in the public eye and keeping some things to himself, he didn’t entirely dismiss the story. Asked about the romance rumours, he told the New York Times newspaper: “If they want to think that, they can. “I’m a pretty open book about most things in my life, but I have a problem with the culture of everyone needing to know everybody’s business and nothing can be sacred. It’s a weird line that I’m still trying to figure out.” Last year, the 27-year-old star hit back at a Twitter user who accused him of taking queer roles away from the LGBTQIA+ community, and defiantly declared “You don’t know my alphabet”, and Lukas has now admitted he often feels pressure to label himself. He said: All the time. An agent that dropped me was like, ‘Stop dyeing your hair, stop wearing weird clothes and pick a lane: gay, bi or straight. It’s too confusing.’ “I understand representation and voices that need to be heard, but I don’t want to do anything on anyone’s accord but my own. Let me do it when I’m ready. And it’s acting. I feel like everyone should get the opportunity to play whatever they want.” Following the publication of the interview, the 39-year-old hairdresser – who has worked with the likes of Kim Kardashian and Jennifer Lopez – shared a photo from the newspaper on his Instagram Story and wrote: “Hot talented @lukasgage.(sic)” View the full article