‘Thank you for all you do’: Reese Witherspoon’s clothing brand offering free dresses to teachers
With schools across the country turning to online learning amid the coronavirus crisis, teachers are finding new ways to best help their students learn and achieve.
Actress Reese Witherspoon’s clothing brand, Draper James, is reaching out to teachers to thank them for their efforts during this unprecedented time.
“We notice you are working harder than ever in these unusual times. During quarantine, we’ve seen you broadcasting lessons from your homes, figuring out remote-learning techniques and new communication platforms on the fly, balancing work and life — all while continuing to educate and connect with our children,” the company said on its website.
Draper James announced on Instagram it is giving teachers a free dress as a thank you.
“We know that this is not easy and want to shine a light on all your efforts,” the company said.
To apply, teachers must fill out a form before April 5 at 11:59 p.m.
The company said it will be in contact with individuals on April 7, with details on how to redeem their new dress.
The offer is valid while supplies last.
Articles via WLKY
‘Tiger King’s’ Carole Baskin Denies Murdering Second Husband, Mincing Him and Feeding Him to Big Cats
In a lengthy post, the Baskins say the show also misrepresents their animal sanctuary and that they feel let down and deceived by the makers of the hit series.
Carole Baskin has hit back at suggestions in the Netflix show Tiger King that she murdered her second husband, Don Lewis, 23 years ago and fed him to her tigers.
Her third husband, Howard Baskin, with whom she runs a Florida tiger sanctuary, has also challenged Kim Kardashian to come and visit their rescue center after the reality-TV star sent out a tweet referencing the possibility that Carole murdered Lewis.
Wow the amount of texts I’ve gotten about Tiger King since I tweeted about it all have mentioned their belief that Carol killed her husband! What are your thoughts? Do you think Carol killed him?— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) March 23, 2020
The Baskins posted a lengthy statement and an emotional video on their website refuting the suggestions, made in Episode 3 by the documentary’s antihero, Joe Exotic, that Carole murdered Lewis and fed his body to their big cats.
Exotic went as far as to make a video showing a woman, who bore a resemblance to his archenemy Baskin, tossing meat to a big cat.
As viewer of the series will know, Exotic is in prison, serving 22 years for plotting to murder Baskin.
Hey All You Cool Cats and Kittens!
On Monday, Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister tweeted a message seeking new information on the disappearance of Lewis in August 1997, fanning the flames of rumors that Carole was involved in his disappearance.
Since @netflix and #Covid19 #Quarantine has made #TigerKing all the rage, I figured it was a good time to ask for new leads. #CaroleBaskin #DonLewis #Netflix #Tiger #BigCatRescue #JoeExotic #TigerKingNetflix #HCSO pic.twitter.com/LHoJcBZVOI— Chad Chronister (@ChadChronister) March 30, 2020
Carole said in her post that she believed Lewis had Alzheimer’s disease and admitted he was “not easy to live with.” Three months before his abandoned van was found at an airport near the couple’s home in Tampa, he had sought a domestic-violence injunction against Baskin.
However Baskin has long maintained that she had nothing to do with the disappearance of her second husband. Cops told Oxygen that Baskin was looked at as a “person of interest,” but “nothing linked her to being involved.”
In the video and post on their website, Howard and Carole pick through the many allegations leveled at them in the course of the hit Netflix docuseries, which lifts the lid on the bizarre world of backyard tiger keepers, zookeeper rivalries, and blackmail and betrayal in the exotic-animal trade.
The Baskins, who say their sanctuary has an excellent reputation in the big-cat world and is misrepresented in the show, slam the directors of the series, Eric Goode and Rebecca Chalking. They say they agreed to co-operate because the pair told them “they wanted to make the big cat version of Blackfish [the documentary that exposed abuse at SeaWorld] that would expose the misery caused by the rampant breeding of big cat cubs for cub-petting exploitation and the awful life the cats lead in roadside zoos and backyards if they survive.
“There are not words for how disappointing it is to see that the series not only does not do any of that, but has had the sole goal of being as salacious and sensational as possible to draw viewers. As part of that, it has a segment devoted to suggesting, with lies and innuendos from people who are not credible, that I had a role in the disappearance of my husband Don in 1997. The series presents this without any regard for the truth or in most cases even giving me an opportunity before publication to rebut the absurd claims. They did not care about truth. The unsavory lies are better for getting viewers.”
They also insist that their sanctuary is grossly misrepresented in the series as being in some way equivalent to roadside zoos.
“We take in abandoned, abused, confiscated, and orphaned cats and give them a permanent home. A sanctuary does not breed, buy, sell, allow people to touch the cats, or put them through the stress of traveling offsite. It is basically a retirement home. Joe Exotic incessantly bred tiger cubs so he could make money charging people to pet and take photos with them. The cubs are torn from their mothers at birth, a torment to any mammal mother and infant. They are deprived of the antibodies in the mother’s milk that prevent disease that bottle formula does not have. There is no tracking of how many die, although some years ago Joe was investigated for the death of 23 cubs. They are deprived of sleep whenever there are customers wanting to pay. They are physically punished to diminish their natural behaviors.”
“Our cats live in large, spacious enclosures in a natural setting full of foliage. Joe’s lived in small barren chain-link boxes with pebble floors that are bad for their feet.”
The Baskins also point out that their organization has a four-star rating at Charity Navigator, America’s largest independent charity evaluator.
“Charity Navigator, which reviews our audited financial statements in detail, gives us their top 4-star rating and a perfect numerical score of 100, something less than 1% of charities achieve,” Baskin says.
Article via TheDailyBeast
Browns’ Odell Beckham caught in ‘Tiger King’ controversy?
Among the more popular shows to binge-watch during the coronavirus pandemic is Netflix’s seven-part documentary series “Tiger King.”
For those who haven’t seen it, the series focuses on big-cat collector Joe Schreibvogel, who now goes by the name of Joe Exotic. Eccentric doesn’t begin to describe the gun-toting, mullet-wearing former country music singer, or the life he leads as a big cat collector, breeder and zoo keeper.
Among the people to visit his zoo in Oklahoma was N.J. native Shaquille O’Neal, an admitted big-cat enthusiast, who made the trek in 2014 and used a recent podcast to distance himself from Joe Exotic.
Sounds like Cleveland Browns wide receiver Odell Beckham could be in a similar situation, according to cleveland.com:
One of the people prominently featured (in the series) is Doc Antle, the owner of Myrtle Beach Safari, who has a long list of celebrities who have visited his business. According to Antle’s Instagram page, among the famous visitors are Floyd Mayweather, Beyoncé and OBJ.
You may remember Beckham posted a video of himself petting a tiger and playing catch with a chimpanzee at Myrtle Beach Safari in January of 2019, when he still played for the New York Giants. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals used Beckham’s video as a chance to further its cause:
“These sensitive and much-abused animals belong with their families in nature, not pimped out as props by shameless roadside zoos. We’re sure that Odell Beckham Jr. had no idea that the sleazy safari park where this young chimpanzee is kept has a lengthy record of violating federal law and uses great apes and big-cat cubs in cheap publicity stunts like this. These encounters are incredibly dangerous, and PETA urges everyone — including Beckham, who certainly doesn’t want another injury — to steer clear of cruel facilities that exploit animals.”
WFAN reached out to Antle after Beckham posted his video:
Doc Antle, director of Myrtle Beach Safari, which provided the animals in the video, told WFAN.com that while the facility has been investigated for federal violations, it has never been cited for any violations. He added that the animals are well cared for and live in groups with other animals of the same species. “This is not a backyard zoo,” Antle said. “This is a really magnificent wonderful place.”
Article via NJ.com
Hey All You Cool Cats and Kittens!
Loni Love Says She ‘Forgot’ Her Man Was White When They First Had Sex
Loni Love’s relationship with James Welsh has been the subject of a lot of conversation on The Real. But on Monday (March 23), Loni appeared on Angela Yee’s Lip Service podcast and the chatter about her love life took a more explicit turn. The talk show host and comedian revealed to Yee that she often forgets her partner is white — especially when they’re in bed.
“When we first started dating, I remember one of the first times we
started having sex, we did it from the back, right? And I forgot he was
white,” Loni, 48, said of her man, who is 55. “And I looked back, I said
‘Who is this f***ing white man?!’ I actually forget! Seriously!”
Doing the deed isn’t the only time Loni forgets she’s in an interracial relationship. “We’re out sometimes, say we get separated, Alex my assistant, he knows,” she continued. “James will wave and smile and I’m like ‘Who is that white man? Oh, that’s James!”
Loni and Welsh, an actor, went public with their relationship in November 2018.
Watch the full conversation, below:
Loni Love Reacts To Backlash Over Her Whyte Boyfriend~”Black men date Whyte women all the time!”
Taylor Swift and Kim Kardashian West break silence about leaked video
Taylor Swift sounds like she feels vindicated while Kim Kardashian West just sounds over it.
The pair are back at it in terms of a very famous phone call which has reignited the choosing of Team Tay vs. Team Kim and Kanye.
Kim Kardashian PROVES that Taylor Swift lied on Kanye~The internet goes CRAZY part 1
A leaked video made the rounds on social media this past weekend which claims to be the full recorded phone conversation between Swift and Kanye West regarding his controversial lines about her in his 2016 song “Famous.”
CNN has not authenticated the video, a snippet of which Kardashian West had posted on Snapchat in 2016 in defense of her husband. On Monday Swift took to her Instagram stories to react to all the renewed interest in the beef between her and the Wests.
“Instead of answering those who are asking how I feel about video footage that was leaked, proving that I was telling the truth the whole time about *that call* (you know, the one that was illegally recorded, that somebody edited and manipulated in order to frame me and put me, my family, and fans through hell for 4 years),” the singer wrote. “Swipe up to see what really matters.”
Swiping up led her followers to a donation page for the organization Feeding America. In the next Instagram story Swift wrote that she has been donating to Feeding America and the World Health Organization during the coronavirus pandemic.
“If you have the ability to, please join me in donating during this crisis,” the star wrote. Kardashian West struck back hours later on Twitter.
“. @taylorswift13 has chosen to reignite an old exchange – that at this point in time feels very self-serving given the suffering millions of real victims are facing right now,” the beauty mogul tweeted. Many Swift supporters believe the newly leaked 25 minute long video proves the singer was telling the truth about not signing off on West rapping the lyrics “To all my southside n****s that know me best/I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex/Why? I made that b**** famous.”
Kardashian West became an integral part of the beef between her husband and Swift when in 2016 she released a Snapchat video meant to rebut Swift’s claim that she hadn’t heard the song and had not given her approval. “I don’t want to do rap that makes people feel bad.” West could be heard saying to Swift on the phone in his wife’s Snapchat video. “Umm, yeah I mean go with whatever line you think is better,” Swift responds. “It’s obviously very tongue in cheek either way. And I really appreciate you telling me about it, that’s really nice.”
The backlash against Swift after the Snapchat video was released gave birth to the “Taylor Swift is a snake” movement on social media and the singer has said it contributed to her withdrawing into herself and channeling her hurt into her 2017 album “Reputation.” In the 25-minute long leaked video of the phone conversation West can be heard trying to get Swift to tweet his song to her massive following once it is released.
He also explains that it contains a controversial lyric about her and Swift asks if it is “mean. “He hedges a bit before he tells her he wants to say “I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex.” There is no mention by him of using the word “b***h.”
Swift laughs a bit.
Kim Kardashian PROVES that Taylor Swift lied on Kanye PART 2~TMZ says Taylor may pursue legal action
“I’m glad it’s not mean though. It doesn’t feel mean, but like, oh my God, the buildup you gave it,” Swift is heard saying. “I thought it was gonna be like, ‘that stupid dumb b***h’ but it’s not.”
Swift tells West she needs to “think about it” and he tells her he will send her the song, something her camp has consistently said did not happen.
Kardashian West tweeted Monday that she “didn’t feel the need to comment a few days ago, and I’m actually really embarrassed and mortified to be doing it right now, but because she continues to speak on it, I feel I’m left without a choice but to respond because she is actually lying.”
“To be clear, the only issue I ever had around the situation was that Taylor lied through her publicist who stated that “Kanye never called to ask for permission…”,” Kardashian West tweeted. “They clearly spoke so I let you all see that. Nobody ever denied the word “b***h” was used without her permission.”
“At the time when they spoke the song had not been fully written yet, but as everyone can see in the video, she manipulated the truth of their actual conversation in her statement when her team said she ‘declined and cautioned him about releasing a song with such a strong misogynistic message,” she also tweeted. “The lie was never about the word b***h, It was always whether there was a call or not and the tone of the conversation.” That caused Swift’s publicist, Tree Paine, to tweet a response.
“I’m Taylor’s publicist and this is my UNEDITED original statement,” Paine tweeted. “Btw, when you take parts out, that’s editing. P.S. who did you guys piss off to leak that video?”In another series of tweets Kardashian West denied editing the clip she posted, defended her husband’s “right to document his musical journey and process, just like [Swift] recently did through her documentary [Miss Americana]” and stated “the call between the two of them would have remained private or would have gone in the trash had she not lied & forced me to defend him.”
“This will be the last time I speak on this because honestly, nobody cares,” Kardashian West ended her Twitter thread. “Sorry to bore you all with this. I know you are all dealing with more serious and important matters.”
A rep for Kardashian West declined to offer further comment when reached by CNN. CNN has also reached out to reps for Swift and West.
Article via CNN
Netflix, director sued over Central Park 5 series
Former Manhattan prosecutor was portrayed by Felicity Huffman in ‘When They See Us’
Former Manhattan prosecutor Linda Fairstein has sued Netflix and film director Ava DuVernay over her portrayal in the streaming service’s miniseries about the Central Park Five case, which sent five black and Latino teenagers to prison for a crime they were later absolved of committing.
Fairstein claims in the lawsuit, filed Wednesday in federal court in Fort Myers, Florida, that the four-part series “When They See Us” defamed her by portraying her as a “racist, unethical villain.”
“Most glaringly, the film series falsely portrays Ms. Fairstein as in charge of the investigation and prosecution of the case against the five, including the development of the prosecution’s theory of the case,” Fairstein’s lawyer, Andrew Miltenberg, said in a statement. “In truth, and as detailed in the lawsuit, Ms. Fairstein was responsible for neither aspect of the case.”
Fairstein was the top Manhattan sex crimes prosecutor in 1989 when the five teenagers were charged with a vicious attack on a jogger in Central Park. The convictions were overturned in 2002 after convicted murderer and serial rapist Matias Reyes confessed to committing the crime alone. DNA linked him to it.
Fairstein, who became a best-selling crime author after retiring from the Manhattan district attorney’s office, observed the boys’ interrogation but didn’t personally try the case.
Fairstein was dropped by her publisher and resigned from several boards she served on after “When They See Us,” which dramatizes the events surrounding the trial, debuted last year.
Netflix called Fairstein’s lawsuit “frivolous” and said in a statement, “We intend to vigorously defend ‘When They See Us’ and Ava DuVernay and Attica Locke, the incredible team behind the series.”
Emails seeking comment were sent to a representative for DuVernay and to Locke, a writer and producer of the series who was named as a defendant in the lawsuit.
Article via FoxBusiness
Let’s talk about Central Park Five -“when they see us” by Ava Duvernay
RuPaul’s Drag Race queens launch digital concert festival amid coronavirus pandemic
All-Stars 4 winner Trinity The Tuck tells EW about the online drag festival featuring Alaska, Monét X Change, Manila Luzon, Peppermint, Nina West, and more: ‘I have a hazmat suit. Trust, I’m pulling out all the stops!
Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to the stage glowing screen in the comfort of your own home: All of the RuPaul’s Drag Race icons you can’t see at the club this weekend because you’re in coronavirus quarantine!
As the world’s population locks down amid the spread of COVID-19, EW can exclusively reveal powerhouse drag management company Producer Entertainment Group has partnered with webcast site Stageit to bring performances from some of the biggest names in contemporary drag directly to you, as bars, restaurants, and live entertainment venues continue to close around the world.
With tickets starting at $10 per show, the PEG Presents: Digital Drag Fest! online festival will unite drag superstars Alaska, Divina De Campo, Ginger Minj, Jackie Beat, Jiggly Caliente, Jinkx Monsoon, Jujubee, Manila Luzon, Miz Cracker, Monét X Change, Nina West, Peppermint, Sharon Needles, Sherry Vine, Trinity The Tuck, and country singer Brandon Stansell for a week-long slate of web-based concerts.
Each 30-minute, all-ages installment will be a unique experience, as Stageit does not record or re-release its content. Tickets are limited (beginning at 100 per show) to keep audience sizes intimate, though attendees will have opportunities to interact with the artists, tip them, and potentially win prizes during the broadcast.
As drag artists around the world continue to lose money with the coronavirus pandemic forcing performance venues into closure, Trinity tells EW the show is meant to serve as “a distraction from what’s going on in the world,” recalling the “escape from reality” provided by a typical night out at a drag show (outings that aren’t currently possible amid government-mandated closings of public gathering spaces).
“[Drag artists] give an experience to give people. It’s relief mentally, emotionally, or comically, and when you’re not able to do that while sequestered in your house, you can watch this online streaming show from home and, for 30 minutes, have fun with whoever they’re watching,” the All-Stars 4 winner says, adding that it also stands to forge new ground for drag queens and kings as they lose work around the country, offering an alternative to live performances that could provide supplemental income for gig-to-gig workers even after the pandemic ends.
“This might be something we want to put on [regularly] because certain areas of the country or the world can’t get to a show or it might be too expensive to get there,” Trinity explains. “People of drag and the LGBTQ community are extremely resilient. We have to be. We’ve always been that way, and this is going to show one of the ways we can take a bad situation and turn it around and make something positive out of it.”
For Trinity, that means decking out her home for a jaw-dropping performance full of vignettes “poking fun at being quarantined in your house.” And, yes, she will serve hazmat suit eleganza. Literally.
“I’m going to do songs that [feel right] on a coronavirus playlist, like MC Hammer’s ‘U Can’t Touch This,'” the queen says. “I ordered drop cloths from Amazon. I’m going to make a section of my house to look like a quarantine zone. I have a hazmat suit. Trust, I’m pulling out all the stops for this little show I’m putting on in my house!”
Drag Race ladies aren’t the only celebrities continuing to entertain fans in quarantine, with Miley Cyrus, who recently launched her Bright Minded: Live daily web series featuring celebrity guest interviews, and actor Ben Platt, who mounted a digital dance party with his followers, launching their own online-only events as well.
Amid the increasingly competitive digital performance space, Trinity assures fans her show will be one of the safest around: “Come see my show! Log in for $10.00!” she pleads with a laugh. “Stay six feet away from your screens!”
See the full Digital Drag Fest! performance schedule below. Individual show descriptions and tickets are available now on the Stageit website.
Drag Race ladies aren’t the only celebrities continuing to entertain fans in quarantine, with Miley Cyrus, who recently launched her Bright Minded: Live daily web series featuring celebrity guest interviews, and actor Ben Platt, who mounted a digital dance party with his followers, launching their own online-only events as well.
Amid the increasingly competitive digital performance space, Trinity assures fans her show will be one of the safest around: “Come see my show! Log in for $10.00!” she pleads with a laugh. “Stay six feet away from your screens!”
See the full Digital Drag Fest! performance schedule below. Individual show descriptions and tickets are available now on the Stageit website.
Article via EW
Nick Cannon Admits To Missing His Shot With Amara La Negra
Nick Cannon got a little hot under the collar during his interview with Amara La Negra.
Host of “The Masked Singer” Nick Cannon has had some high profile relationships in his time. He was married to Mariah Carey for eight years, during which they became parents to twins, Marilyn and Moroccan. Following the pair’s split, Nick started seeing model Brittany Bell and they welcomed a son, Golden “Sagon” Cannon in 2017. Since then, rumors have circulated about who Nick is hooking up with, with the latest whisper involving model Jasmine Sanders.
Witnesses say that they spotted the radio show host with German-American model on dates around December, but as Nick stated during his interview with Amara, he is currently a single man. The reason this is important is because there was some serious flirting going on with Nick and the “There’s No Way” singer.
Amara is, of course, single herself. Fans of “Love & Hip Hop: Miami” were glued to their screens as they watched her relationship with Emjay heat up — and then explode. Nick told the singer that he had experienced strong pangs of jealousy when he realized she had a boyfriend while watching the reality show.
“It’s not like you didn’t have your opportunities, right? I mean, don’t test me, ’cause I’ll take it there,” the 29-year-old teased. Nick responded by saying that she was making him a tad uncomfortable, but that he was moving in his seat to get closer to her.
Amara posted on Instagram two weeks ago that after filming the latest season of “Love & Hip Hop”, she is keen to refocus and get back to doing music. But we think a new romance with Nick Cannon could spice things up nicely.