California is taking legal action against everyone involved with Criminal Minds
CBS’ Criminal Minds may have ended earlier this year, but that’s not stopping California’s Department Of Fair Employment And Housing from taking steps against what it characterizes as an “unchecked” environment of “intimidating, hostile, and offensive” behavior from Gregory St. Johns, the show’s director of photography. According to The Hollywood Reporter, California has filed an “extraordinary” suit against various studios and executive producers involved in the show, including CBS Studios, ABC Signature Studios, The Walt Disney Company, and other individual people based on accusations that the show’s executive-producing team “protected” St. Johns for years. Furthermore, the suits says that the producers on Criminal Minds not only knew about the alleged behavior but also “condoned it” by taking “no necessary steps to prevent sex-based harassment and discrimination” and by firing “anyone who resisted or who tacitly evaded St. Johns’ advances or abuse.”
The suit says that over a dozen men were fired by the show at St. Johns’ request and accuses the Walt Disney Company’s employee relations department of conducting “inadequate investigations designed to exonerate St. Johns.” It goes on to say that no action was taken until the media began reporting on the allegations against St. Johns, but even after he was fired, he still received an “enhanced severance.” You can read the full complaint in the THR articlelinked above, which says that the state is looking for “compensatory and punitive damages” as well as “injunctive declaratory, and equitable relief” from the many defendants.
Neither St. Johns nor Disney has publicly responded to the suit, but THR says it will update its story if/when that happens.
Article via AVClub
Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson ‘very proud’ of his daughter joining WWE
Article via PageSix
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s daughter is joining the family business.
During a virtual conversation with Jimmy Fallon, Johnson revealed that his daughter — Simone, 18 — has signed a contract with WWE, the professional wrestling organization where he worked before transitioning into acting.
“She signed her contract with the WWE, it just blows my mind,” said Johnson, 48. “First of all, I mean, what an honor that my daughter wants to follow in my footsteps. But, more importantly, ‘follow in my footsteps’ sounds cliché, but she actually wants to blaze her own path, which is just so important. She wound up being the youngest signee in the history of the company.”
The “Jumanji: The Next Level” star explained that it was a long time coming; Simone had been working toward it since she was just 16.
“She was working her a– off. Quietly, under the radar, in the ring, getting thrown around, and all the bumps and bruises that go with pro wrestling,” Johnson explained. “She hung in there. I’m very, very proud of her.”
Not only is Simone following in her father’s footsteps, but her grandfather Rocky Johnson and great-grandfather Peter Maivia also were professional wrestlers. Both were inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.
Rocky died earlier this year at the age of 75.
In February, Simone shared a photo to Instagram, expressing her excitement at joining the WWE.
“To the little girl who fell in love with wrestling & said ‘this will be my life one day’, this is for you,” the caption read. “I’m humbled, grateful & ready to work. Let’s do this.”
The picture featured Simone wearing a grey WWE T-shirt and grinning.
DA 5 BLOODS Trailer (2020) Chadwick Boseman, Spike Lee Netflix Movie
From Academy Award® Winner Spike Lee comes a New Joint: the story of four African-American Vets — Paul (Delroy Lindo), Otis (Clarke Peters), Eddie (Norm Lewis), and Melvin (Isiah Whitlock, Jr.) — who return to Vietnam. Searching for the remains of their fallen Squad Leader (Chadwick Boseman) and the promise of buried treasure, our heroes, joined by Paul’s concerned son (Jonathan Majors), battle forces of Man and Nature — while confronted by the lasting ravages of The Immorality of The Vietnam War.
Ellen DeGeneres Thought Rumors She’s Mean Were ‘Just Sour Grapes’
Ellen DeGeneres ends every episode of her talk show with, “Be kind to one another,” but she has been hit with a number of allegations in recent weeks that she is mean to staffers, guests and other people behind-the-scenes.
“Ellen is at the end of her rope,” a source reveals exclusively in the new issue of Us Weekly. “She thought this was all just sour grapes from a few haters. But it’s not a passing thing — the hits just keep coming.”
It all started in April when beauty YouTuber Nikkie de Jager (a.k.a. NikkieTutorials) accused DeGeneres, 62, of being “cold and distant” when she appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in January. That same month, the comedian came under fire for joking that being quarantined in her $27 million mansion during the coronavirus pandemic is “like being in jail.” In addition, Variety reported that the crew on DeGeneres’ show had been left in the dark about their jobs and pay during the global crisis, and her former bodyguard publicly called her “cold” and “dehumanizing.”
“Ellen’s so grateful to have Portia in her life as a soulmate and a sounding board, but that doesn’t mean it’s been easy,” a second source tells Us. “Their home life is strained right now. … Her real friends never ask her to be funny or tell jokes. They accept her as is.”
And at the end of the day, DeGeneres’ ratings continue to soar, which indicates that the backlash has not affected her show.
“Ellen’s been in our homes for so long, it’ll take a lot more than a bodyguard and a blogger to change how people feel about her,” the second insider notes. “Her best response is just being happy Ellen on the show every day.”
Article via MSN
ANTM’s Jay Manuel Breaks Silence on Why He Left, Talks Relationship With Tyra and Current Backlash
“It became a culture where you could only speak your mind so much.”
Jay Manuel is dishing out enough “America’s Next Top Model” dirt, one can’t help but “smize.”
During an interview with Variety, the former “ANTM” creative director broke his silence on why he left the show, talked “uncomfortable” moments while filming, gave his take on the recent backlash from problematic clips resurfacing and revealed where he stands with Tyra Banks.
“Over the past few years, we’ve emailed,” Jay said of Tyra, noting the last time they saw each other was at BeautyCon in 2017. “To be very honest, we really have no relationship to speak of, which is really sad. Our time together on ‘ANTM’ was amazingly productive and, at times, magical. We got to experience being part of a global phenomenon.”
As for the recent criticisms of commentary by Tyra and other judges on the show being out-of-touch, Jay said he could see both sides of the coin.
Last week, “ANTM” came under fire after old clips went viral claiming to showcase racial insensitivity, body shaming and other apparent improprieties.
One video showeds the panel of judges scolding contestant Danielle “Dani” Evans for refusing to get the gap in her front teeth filled back in 2006, as they announced it would leave her “unmarketable.”
Another put a spotlight on judges telling contestant Toccaro she had to lose 150 pounds to be considered a model.
And the producers encouraged a contestant to pose in a grave after receiving news of her best friend’s death in yet another old clip.
“I do think it’s a little unfair for people to persecute Tyra now, especially because she has already taken heat for her past executive decisions in past years,” Jay told Variety. “However, I can’t really defend her either because when ratings were high and things were great, she remained a clear figurehead, because it was her show.”
“Consistently, when s–t hit the fan and people wanted to talk about some of the things that were said on the show, we would have another singular EP come forward to claim that all creative decisions were made as the team, and I really wish that were the case, but that just simply is not true,” he added.
One of the moments that drew the biggest online ire was when the show appeared to promote blackface, which Jay said he witnessed personally.
“I do remember, and it was very uncomfortable for me, in Cycle 4, it was a photoshoot where the girls had to swap races,” he began. “I was so, so, so uncomfortable with this. I was never scripted for my intros or anything, and I didn’t know how I was going to be able to set this up — I was so afraid that I would wear this because I was the creative director, but it was not my idea.”
“That swapped race was a layer added in,” he continued. “It was supposed to be a different concept. I remember that very, very clearly. I was basically told that I had to execute the creative, and it made me very uncomfortable.”
On Friday, Tyra spoke out about the backlash, tweeting, “Been seeing the posts about the insensitivity of some past ANTM moments and I agree with you. Looking back, those were some really off choices.”
The show’s co-creator, Ken Mok, also tweeted that the clips were cringe-worthy, but added, “Just a FYI — the entire creative team made the choices on those shows — not just Tyra.”
TooFab has previously contacted reps for Tyra regarding the show clips.
Meanwhile, according to Jay, Ken’s statement was a bit misleading.
“I think it’s a little unfair to throw the whole team under the bus,” he said during the interview. “The whole team wasn’t there on the front side when they were making decisions about the show in its heyday. The team wasn’t really supported, so to speak.”
Finally, Jay cleared up any rumors of why he left the show after 18 seasons, as many fans believed he had a fallout with Tyra and was fired.
“When we parted ways, I had already completed my contract after Cycle 18 with no plans to return for Cycle 19, and that’s something that people don’t know,” he dished. “It was 100% my decision to leave the show, as I was ready to move my career in a different direction, but unfortunately at the time, my departure was misreported to the press, and contractually, I could not speak about leaving the show.”
“Now, I can speak about it, so I can be clear that my departure from the show was one of choice.”
Moving his career in a different direction has found Jay releasing his first novel, “The Wig, The Bitch & The Meltdown,” which was inspired by his time on “ANTM.”
“I wanted this book to entertain and that’s why I used satire, and had a lot of fun with it,” Jay told Variety. “All of the characters in the book took on a life of their own and were just inspired by people in my life, but we write what we know and, as they say, art imitates life — and is often larger than life.”
“The Wig, The Bitch & The Meltdown” sashays onto book shelves on August 3.
Article via TooFab
Mary-Kate Olsen Is Requesting an Emergency Divorce
Coronavirus has halted just about everything — and some government offices are no exception. According to TMZ, Mary-Kate Olsen and her husband, Pierre Olivier Sarkozy, are in the midst of a divorce. On top of that, Sarkozy’s legal team is demanding that Olsen remove her belongings from their New York City apartment by May 18. She says that it’s not safe to be moving at the moment and because New York City courts are closed down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, her request for a petition for divorce has been in limbo.
TMZ reports that Olsen submitted the petition for divorce back on April 17 and that courts are only processing “emergency” filings. In Olsen’s case, she could be facing the possibility of Sarkozy tossing all of her belongings. In court documents, she claims that Sarkozy is “forcing” her out of the premises by terminating their lease without her knowing. Olsen requested an extension to May 30 and TMZ adds that Sarkozy has been unresponsive.
When the divorce petition is filed, it would “trigger an automatic court order” and prevent Sarkozy from getting rid of Olsen’s personal property. Olsen filed an emergency order to move the divorce process ahead and TMZ adds that she’s asked that the couple’s prenuptial agreement — which was never made public — be honored. Olsen and Sarkozy got married back on November 27, 2015, in a wedding that reportedly included “bowls of cigarettes.”
There is precedent for a divorce via telephone, though Olsen and Sarkozy’s messy situation may make things more complicated. A “non-contested” divorce can take place over the phone with a judge present and depending on the situation, there can even be video conferences for certain hearings.
Article via YahooNews
Hello (From The Inside) Adele Parody By Chris Mann
This man has nerve enough to be able to sang!!! WOW I present Chris Mann Hello (From The Inside) Adele Parody
Kermit The Frog The Rainbow Connection and the Story Behind it.
This is one of my favorite songs from Kermit AKA Jim Henson. A simple song. With meaning. For the Muppet Movie of 1979. The Rainbow Connection was written by Paul Williams.
The Rainbow Connection The Muppet Movie 1979
The Story Behind The Rainbow Connection
Maitreyi tackles Desi American teenhood in Mindy Kaling’s new Netflix series
“How has this not happened already?” Maitreyi Ramakrishnan said. “It’s not, you know, some small group of people. For me, being Tamil, we’re all over the world.”
When Maitreyi Ramakrishnan’s friend Shaharah Gaznabbi sent her a screenshot of Mindy Kaling’s tweet calling for South Asian girls to audition for a new Netflix show last year, she said yes. The honest reason, she said, was mostly that she wanted to hang out with her best friend, whom she hadn’t seen in a while.
It turned out that this spontaneous energy made her a good fit for the character, whose impulsiveness sometimes gets her into trouble. Luckily for Ramakrishnan, it helped her land her first acting job — the lead role in Kaling’s and Lang Fisher’s coming-of-age series “Never Have I Ever,” premiering Monday on Netflix.
The show, loosely based on Kaling’s childhood, centers on Devi Vishwakumar, an Indian American high school sophomore who is dealing with the grief of her father’s sudden death while navigating ordinary high school troubles: grades, fitting in and, most important, boys. The comedy is fresh and uniquely Gen Z, incorporating aspects of pop culture like the CW’s “Riverdale” and a knockoff version of TikTok in different scenes.
Reconciling trauma and everyday life is seen through the lens of an Indian American teenager, rebelling against her overprotective mother to go to parties and drink.
It’s one of the first times a South Asian girl’s story has been the center of a U.S. television show. Ramakrishnan, a Tamil Canadian from Mississauga, Ontario, said she’s excited to provide this representation.
“How has this not happened already?” she asked. “It’s not, you know, some small group of people. For me, being Tamil, we’re all over the world.”
She recalls how her spur-of-the-moment audition went down. Ramakrishnan and her friend went to their local library, figured out how to use her mom’s camera and sent in a video. A week later, she was asked to send in four more. Ramakrishnan, who was then 17, had acted in her high school’s theater productions, but she had never held any kind of job before.
“When they asked me to send in more, I honestly thought that they set the bar really low and they had low expectations, so I did not think much of it,” Ramakrishnan, who is now 18, told NBC Asian America. “But a week after that, after sending in four more videos, they asked me to come to L.A. for a screen test. And that’s when me and my best friend lost our minds.”
After auditioning in Los Angeles, Ramakrishnan found out that she had gotten the lead. Ramakrishnan said Kaling told her that her ability to bring herself to the character from the get-go was a major factor in her being chosen among 15,000 other applicants. She was able to give her input into what Devi said and how she reacted to keep the character realistic.
Devi is a bold, nerdy overachiever who desperately wants to shrug off the past year’s trauma and become cool and popular. She enlists her two best friends, Fabiola and Eleanor, in the ploy, picking boyfriends for them and trying to wangle invitations to parties. She tries to distract herself from her father’s recent death by pursuing an older, extremely sought-after boy at her high school.
While Devi’s Indian heritage isn’t necessarily the focus of the series, it’s certainly present in the first season. It can be seen in the Vishwakumar family’s nightly dinners, when they might eat dosa and sambar, and in Devi’s cousin Kamala’s fretting about her parents arranging her marriage.
It’s also apparent in more nuanced ways. Devi’s struggles with her own connection to Indian culture are evident when the family attends the annual Ganesh Puja, a Hindu festival celebrating the god Ganesha. She is visibly uncomfortable wearing a traditional sari, and when she runs into her friend Harish, who has returned from Stanford to attend the puja, she’s surprised to hear that he genuinely wanted to come to the “lame-fest.”
When Devi tells Harish that she can’t wait to move away to college, become an atheist and eat cheeseburgers with a white boyfriend, he says that he used to relate but that his Native American roommate’s connection to his own culture made him reassess. He tells her that even though he used to make fun of the puja every year, he doesn’t want to be an “insecure Indian guy who hates doing Indian things,” and Devi unconvincingly asserts that that’s not how she feels and quickly heads off.
Throughout the episode, Devi seems to feel out of place among the other Indian Americans. She makes fun of a group of girls around her age doing an Indian dance performance and gets scolded by a dancer’s sister. Later during the puja, she talks to a college counselor — the white husband of an auntie — who tells her that without her using her father’s death as a selling point, he doesn’t see how she’s different from other Indian teenagers applying to college.
“I’m not like any other Indian kid, and I’m not interesting just because my dad died,” she says.
Ramakrishnan said she was able to draw on her own experiences as a first-generation South Asian growing up in Canada.
“Like Devi, I had to figure out where I stood with my own culture, and that’s something she goes through in the series,” Ramakrishnan said. “Which is really interesting, because it hasn’t been talked about in film and Western film, being first generation. And now we’re bringing that to light and we’re having that conversation, which is important.”
Ramakrishnan also pulled from her own social circle while playing Devi. In the initial teaser trailer for “Never Have I Ever,” Devi is seen kneeling before several Hindu gods, saying, “What’s poppin’?” Ramakrishnan said the phrase made its way from her group of friends to the show.
“I used to always say that on set, and slowly but surely Mindy and Lang started putting that into the actual script,” Ramakrishnan said.
She was able to finish out high school as a normal student. She found out that she had landed the role in May, graduated in June and began filming in July. At Kaling’s request, she kept the secret for two months, telling only her best friend.
“I really got to live out my high school life normally, getting ready, you know, for prom and commencement, but then just knowing ‘OK , this is going to happen. Get ready,'” Ramakrishnan said.
Ramakrishnan wants to continue to pursue acting. While sheltering in place with her family in Mississauga, she’s reading scripts, looking for more projects to dive into and playing Animal Crossing with her brother and mom.
She said other South Asian girls who want to pursue careers that aren’t seen as traditional in their communities should go for it, because if they don’t, they’ll regret it.
“It’s never too late to pursue something, because no path is ever the right way,” Ramakrishnan said. “There’s no one conventional path to go about doing something.”
Article via NBCNews