Roseanne Tells Vice ABC Did ‘Worst Thing They Could’ In Firing Her As She Struggled With ‘Mental Health Issues’
ABC did “the worst thing they could have possibly done to me…to fire me from my own show,” Roseanne Barr complained to Vice in an interview it’s airing tonight right before ABC’s unveiling of The Conners.
In a pretaped interview airing on HBO, Barr paints herself as a victim, describing to Vice the “emotional and psychological impact of going from stratospheric stardom to being completely de-platformed,” as Vice put it.
“I don’t keep in touch with anyone on the show. I’ve been removed from the process of my life’s work. It’s like the worst thing they could have possibly done to me, was to fire me from my own show and let other people write my life story,” Barr complained.
This time, she is describing what happened thusly:
“I was a my moms’ house at Salt Lake and I was very happy and my show was No. 1 after 20 years — and not just be No. 1 but 28 million people watched it. So I was in happy place.”
She said she went to bed, woke up at 2:11 a.m., “tweeted that tweet” and went back to sleep.
“When I woke up in the morning it was all over the news and I was like, ‘Uh oh.’ And [the tweet] was characterized as racist, which made my stomach fall to my feet.”
ABC called, she said, and asked her, “What possible excuse can you have for something you’ve done which is unforgivable’ and some other word I can’t remember,” Roseanne described.
“I said, ‘I’ll be happy to go on all the ABC shows and explain it, and apologize’. They said, ‘No,’ I wasn’t allowed to do that.”
“Not too long after that, my mom was watching TV and saw that it was canceled. And that was just the beginning,” Roseanne added, dramatically.
The tweet that caused ABC to abruptly cancel Barr’s hit comedy series revival, came just days after the network made her the star of its Upfront presentation to advertisers.
Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, Barr tweeted, calling former President Barack Obama adviser Valeria Jarrett an offspring of the “Muslim Brotherhood & Planet of the Apes.”
In her initial tweet about Jarrett, Barr referred to her as “muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby=vj.” It was in response to a tweet referencing a Wikileaks claim that the CIA during Obama’s term in office spied on French presidential candidates.
In response to blowback calling the tweet racist, Barr tweeted, “Muslims r not a race.” Jarrett, an African-American, was born in Iran to American parents.
Later, when the situation began to impress itself upon her, Barr tweeted that the original tweet was “a bad joke about [Jarrett’s] politics and her looks” adding, “I should have known better. Forgive me-my joke was in bad taste.”
Except it wasn’t the first time Barr had called an African-American woman an “ape”. In 2013, she called Obama National Security Adviser Susan Rice “a man with big swinging ape balls.”
After canceling Roseanne, ABC agreed in June to a spinoff called The Conners, starring same original cast members except Barr, after she agreed to have no financial or creative participation in the series. In a statement, Barr said she agreed to the settlement “in order that 200 jobs of beloved cast and crew could be saved, and I wish the best for everyone involved.”
These days, Barr told Vice, she’s spending time organizing photos, sleeping, smoking, and more.
“I’ve got a lot of time for real life, real-life stuff. Like, just going for a walk with my mom and having an ice cream cone. Stuff like that. Waiting in lines, I’ve really been sleeping a lot, like, probably 17 hours a day,” she described.
She said she started smoking,” adding, “I have struggled with mental health issues and I was struggling at that time as well. My whole life I’ve been under punches, not just my career. My life. Ya, I’ve been under punches forever.
Article via Yahoo News
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CDC Says It’s Concerned About Polio-Like ‘Mystery Illness’ That’s Paralyzing Kids
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this week issued a warning about a disease known as acute flaccid myelitis (AFM), an illness it says it knows very little about but can cause arm or leg weakness and paralysis, particularly in children. According to a Tuesday press briefing, there have been 62 confirmed cases across 22 states in 2018.
AFM is an extremely rare but serious disease that affects the nervous system and results in polio-like symptoms, though the CDC says that all confirmed cases of AFM have tested negative for poliovirus. One death of a child diagnosed with AFM occurred in 2017.
“While we know that these can cause AFM, we have not been able to find a cause for the majority of these AFM cases,” Nancy Messonnier, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said during the media teleconference. “The reason why we don’t know about AFM—and I am frustrated that despite all of our efforts we haven’t been able to identify the cause of this mystery illness—we continue to investigate to better understand the clinical picture of AFM cases, risk factors and possible causes of the increase in cases.”
“Despite extensive laboratory testing, we have not determined what pathogen or immune response caused the arm or leg weakness and paralysis in most patients,” Messonnier added.
Messonnier said that the CDC has neither a clear idea of who might be at higher risk of developing the disease nor why. Additionally, it doesn’t know what long-term effects of the illness could look like. Ninety percent of children diagnosed with AFM are under 18, with the average age of children in confirmed cases being about 4.
The CDC began tracking the illness in 2014 and has seen a spike in reports in August and September every 2 years, according to data on its website. It has received 127 reports of patients under investigation (PUIs) for AFM this year, though it notes that figure includes the 62 confirmed cases. The CDC received reports of 33 confirmed cases of AFM across 16 states in 2017, down from 149 confirmed cases in 39 states in 2016. In total, there have been 386 confirmed cases since 2014.
Despite the recent spike in reported cases of AFM, Messonnier underscored that the disease is “incredibly rare” and has been diagnosed annually at a rate of less than one in a million since 2014.
“Parents need to know that AFM is very rare, even with the increase in cases that we are seeing now,” Messonnier said. “We recommend seeking medical care right away if you or your child develop sudden weakness of the arms or legs. As we work to better understand what is causing AFM, parents can help protect their children from serious diseases by following prevention steps like washing their hands, staying up to date on recommended immunizations and using insect repellent.”
Article via Gizmodo
‘I don’t forgive this woman, and she needs help’: Black child wrongly accused of grabbing ‘Cornerstore Caroline’
With tears streaming down his cheeks, a 9-year-old black child spoke out at a community meeting in New York about being wrongly accused of grabbing a white woman’s backside in a corner store — an incident disproved by security-camera footage.
With his mother standing beside him, Jeremiah Harvey delivered a simple message at the community meeting: “Friendship is really the key.”
Jeremiah’s emotional response came six days after Teresa Klein called the police and claimed the boy had grabbed her butt in a Brooklyn corner store Wednesday.
Klein issued an apology after viewing surveillance video of Jeremiah’s backpack brushing her backside as he passed her in the store. The video clearly shows Jeremiah’s hands were in front of him as he passed her.
Jeremiah and his sister, dressed in school uniforms and carrying shopping bags, could be seen and heard crying and calling for their mother as she and other customers and residents tried to address Klein’s accusations.
“‘Cornerstore Caroline,’ that’s what that is,” one person could be heard saying on the video. “Don’t cry, little man.”
Bellille also spoke at Monday’s meeting, telling the crowd, “What happened to us respecting one another, having unity and being neighborly?”
Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams organized the community meeting after the video of Klein calling 911 on Jeremiah went viral on social media, sparking outrage.
Following the meeting, Jeremiah told ABC New York station WABC that he does not accept Klein’s apology.
“I don’t forgive this woman, and she needs help,” he said.
On Friday, Klein returned to the store, as residents and local media stood by, to finally watch the surveillance video that exonerated Jeremiah. Footage from inside the store showed the boy’s book bag grazing Klein’s butt. His hands, which did not touch her, were in plain sight on surveillance video.
The episode is the latest in a string of incidents in which white people have called the police on black people for seemingly innocuous behavior.
Klein also claimed that she called the police because the child’s mother was aggressive.
“I felt someone grab my a–. I said, ‘Don’t touch my a–.’ The woman flew at me, claimed she was a police officer, threatened to arrest me and I called 911,” Klein told WABC.
Article via Yahoo News
Stephen Hawking left us bold predictions on AI, superhumans, and aliens
The late physicist Stephen Hawking’s last writings predict that a breed of superhumans will take over, having used genetic engineering to surpass their fellow beings.
In Brief Answers to the Big Questions, to be published on Oct. 16 and excerpted today in the UK’s Sunday Times (paywall), Hawking pulls no punches on subjects like machines taking over, the biggest threat to Earth, and the possibilities of intelligent life in space.
Artificial Intelligence
Hawking delivers a grave warning on the importance of regulating AI, noting that “in the future AI could develop a will of its own, a will that is in conflict with ours.” A possible arms race over autonomous-weapons should be stopped before it can start, he writes, asking what would happen if a crash similar to the 2010 stock market Flash Crash happened with weapons. He continues:
In short, the advent of super-intelligent AI would be either the best or the worst thing ever to happen to humanity. The real risk with AI isn’t malice, but competence. A super-intelligent AI will be extremely good at accomplishing its goals, and if those goals aren’t aligned with ours we’re in trouble. You’re probably not an evil ant-hater who steps on ants out of malice, but if you’re in charge of a hydroelectric green-energy project and there’s an anthill in the region to be flooded, too bad for the ants. Let’s not place humanity in the position of those ants.
Earth’s bleak future, gene editing, and superhumans
The bad news: At some point in the next 1,000 years, nuclear war or environmental calamity will “cripple Earth.” However, by then, “our ingenious race will have found a way to slip the surly bonds of Earth and will therefore survive the disaster.” The Earth’s other species probably won’t make it, though.
The humans who do escape Earth will probably be new “superhumans” who have used gene editing technology like CRISPR to outpace others. They’ll do so by defying laws against genetic engineering, improving their memories, disease resistance, and life expectancy, he says
Hawking seems curiously enthusiastic about this final point, writing, “There is no time to wait for Darwinian evolution to make us more intelligent and better natured.”
Once such superhumans appear, there are going to be significant political problems with the unimproved humans, who won’t be able to compete. Presumably, they will die out, or become unimportant. Instead, there will be a race of self-designing beings who are improving themselves at an ever-increasing rate. If the human race manages to redesign itself, it will probably spread out and colonise other planets and stars.
Intelligent life in space
Hawking acknowledges there are various explanations for why intelligent life hasn’t been found or has not visited Earth. His predictions here aren’t so bold, but his preferred explanation is that humans have “overlooked” forms of intelligent life that are out there.
Does God exist?
No, Hawking says.
The question is, is the way the universe began chosen by God for reasons we can’t understand, or was it determined by a law of science? I believe the second. If you like, you can call the laws of science “God”, but it wouldn’t be a personal God that you would meet and put questions to.
The biggest threats to Earth
Threat number one one is an asteroid collision, like the one that killed the dinosaurs. However, “we have no defense” against that, Hawking writes. More immediately: climate change. “A rise in ocean temperature would melt the ice caps and cause the release of large amounts of carbon dioxide,” Hawking writes. “Both effects could make our climate like that of Venus with a temperature of 250C.”
The best idea humanity could implement
Nuclear fusion power. That would give us clean energy with no pollution or global warming.
Article via QZ
Dave Chappelle stands behind ‘brother’ Kanye West amid Trump endorsement controversy
Kanye West’s highly public endorsement of President Donald Trump has sparked considerable debate, with many perplexed by the rapper’s unyielding support for the polarizing leader — most recently demonstrated during a surreal Oval Office sit-down Thursday.
Despite the controversy, comedian Dave Chappelle is standing behind West, insisting that he “loves” the hip-hop star regardless of his political leanings.
“Kanye’s an artist, and he’s a genius,” Chappelle said during a recent interview on CNN’s The Van Jones Show (which was taped before West’s White House visit). “I think the angle he’s seeing things from is about the division. And he’s not inconsistent with what he’s saying. For instance, a decade ago he was saying he wanted to take the Confederate flag and re-appropriate it.”
He continued, “I’m not mad at Kanye West, that’s my brother. I love him, I support him, I buy his albums. I don’t have to agree with everything that he says, I just trust him as a person of intent.”
But the comedian acknowledged that the “Stronger” performer could do with a bit more restraint, adding, “But yeah, he shouldn’t say all that s—.”
Chappelle’s declaration of support was met with an uncomfortable silence from the audience that had gathered for the taping of the segment.
Chappelle, who can currently be seen in a small but key role in A Star is Born, also shared his experience of living in rural southern Ohio, which is heavily populated by Trump supporters.
“In the name of safety, I don’t tell them anything about that guy,” he explained. “I don’t think I can change anybody’s mind.”
When it comes to his own shocking statements, Chappelle, 45, expressed remorse for comments he made while appearing on Saturday Night Live following Trump’s presidential win — a time when many were expecting some form of comedic reprieve from the entertainer.
“I said we should give Trump a chance because he’s the president of the United States,” he said, “I shouldn’t have said that s—.”
Chappelle’s appearance on the show was part of his endorsement for longtime friend and Governor of Maryland candidate Ben Jealous.
Article via EW
Pet Sematary: The First Trailer Will Leave You Gasping For Breath
After a batch of unnerving photos from the new Pet Sematary remake were released earlier this week, we finally have a trailer to obsess over. Directors Kevin Kolsch and Dennis Widmyer introduce us to the Creed family, who moves into a new home that just so happens to be next to a small woodland cemetery for pets. What they don’t realize — at least not at first — is that the land allows the creatures buried there to come back from the dead. When tragedy strikes, the family pushes the powers of the cemetery to the extreme.
Jason Clarke and Amy Seimetz star as Louis and Rachel Creed, who are parents to young Ellie (Jeté Laurence) and Gage (twins Hugo Lavoie and Lucas Lavoie). John Lithgow is also on board as their kinda creepy next door neighbor, Jud Crandall, who informs them of the cemetery’s powers. Watch the first trailer for the Stephen King adaptation above before it hits theaters on April 5, 2019.
Article via PopSugar
Plane rampage grandfather-of-25 who exposed his penis and slapped an American TV exec
Plane rampage grandfather-of-25 who exposed his penis and slapped an American TV exec after downing five glasses of wine on BA flight from New Orleans to London is spared jail
- Hatam Hamad, 56, was on BA flight from New Orleans to London last week
- He necked five glasses of wine then revealed his genitals and walked around
- Hamad approached TV executive and slapped him in the chest with his hand
- Handed a suspended jail sentence at Uxbridge Magistrates Court on Friday
A grandfather-of-25 who marched through a packed plane with his genitals exposed and slapped a senior US TV executive on the chest has been spared jail.
Hatam Hamad, 56, necked five glasses of wine then revealed his genitals on a British Airways flight from New Orleans to London last week.
He marched down the aisle and attacked father-of-two Joel Vilmenay, who was with his wife and young children.
Furious Mr Vilmenay, president of New Orleans TV channel WDSU, then confronted the Palestinian and American dual national – but he ‘responded by grunting’ and exposed himself to another passenger, a court heard.
Father-of-nine Hamad, who runs a family petrol station in New Orleans, was handed a six-week jail sentence at Uxbridge Magistrates Court on Friday, suspended for one year, after he admitted assault by beating.
Prosecutor Wendy Barrett said the incident unfolded about six hours into the British Airways BA224 flight on October 10.
Reading a statement from Mr Vilmenay, she said: ‘He explains he was travelling with his wife and two children, aged eight and five, he had just taken his daughter to the bathroom and returned to his seat.’
Mr Vilmenay, who was not in court, added in the statement: ‘After about five minutes a male, Mr Hamad, came down the aisle to me, directly to my chair where I was sitting with my kids.
‘My daughter was awake and my son was asleep. This male had his penis out and exposed within three inches of my face.
‘At this time I felt shocked and then attempted to stand up and shouted at the male, ‘what are you doing?’
He said Hamad refused to put his penis away and ‘responded by grunting’ before exposing it to another passenger.
Mr Vilmenay said: ‘At this moment he used the back of his right hand and slapped me in the chest with some force.
‘I was very concerned by what he might do to me and my family and the other passengers around us.’
Cabin crews were alerted to the incident on Aisle 23 and were forced to take Hamad to the back of the aircraft where he was guarded for the rest of the flight.
Miss Barrett said: ‘Mr Vilmenay sat back down and was concerned obviously about his daughter being exposed to this behaviour.
‘Cabin crew, once alerted, approached Mr Hamad. He had to be escorted to another part of the plane.
‘Other passengers were moved from the very back row.
‘Because of his behaviour a member of the flight crew stayed with him for the remaining period of the flight. Mr Vilmenay, he was made to feel angry, upset.’
His statement added: ‘At the time I was shocked and felt threatened, I was very concerned for my son, daughter and wife.’
Read more via DailyMail
Don Lemon on Kanye: I had to turn the TV off
Kanye West has returned to Twitter and set it ablaze with his political commentary. Many celebrities have written Kanye off, among them Don Lemon…
Lil’ Kim Remembers Slain Rap-A-Lot Rapper Marley G: “I’m At Loss For Words”
New York rapper Lil’ Kim is in a world of pain right now. The hip-hop veteran has reacted to the death of rap newcomer Marley G.
The Queen Bee went to Instagram last night (October 14) with heartfelt words about Marley.
Article via SOHH
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Kim & Kanye Get Presidential Welcome in Uganda
Kim Kardashian and Kanye West are apparently making this a thing … meeting with heads of states.
Kimye met with the President of Uganda Yoweri K. Museveni Monday during their trip to Africa. The President tweeted, “I welcome American entertainment stars Kanye West and @KimKardashian to Uganda. I held fruitful discussions with the duo on how to promote Uganda’s tourism and the arts.”
The Prez went on … “I thank Kanye for the gift of white sneakers. Enjoy your time in Uganda. It is the true pearl of Africa.”
This meeting, of course, comes on the heels of Kanye’s meeting in the Oval with President Trump … where the American Prez also scored a pair of Yeezys.
As we’ve reported … Kanye’s in Africa working on his next album. Big Sean‘s there too. They’ll be producing music and shooting some videos during the trip.
And, while it seems like strictly business for Ye, he’s brought North and Kim along for the trip too.
Article via TMZ
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