The bimbo is back and Gen Z is reclaiming it with a leftist flair.
The modern bimbo is hyperfeminine, embraces their hotness, and rejects the capitalist mentality that they must showcase marketable skills.
Bimbofication isn't exclusively for cis women — everyone who aligns themselves with femininity and finds joy in being ditzy can identify as a bimbo. Above all, the modern bimbo isn't necessarily uneducated or unintelligent, but their personality doesn't revolve around their degrees and resúmé. The modern bimbo takes the male gaze that's been unavoidable since birth and creates a caricature of it by performing vanity and cluelessness.
Despite the derogatory origins of the word "bimbo," used to dismiss beautiful women as unintelligent, Gen Z is leading the effort to reclaim the word. Syrena, a 21-year-old self-proclaimed "intelligent bimbo" who goes by the handle fauxrich, offered a diagnosis in a recent viral TikTok.
"Do you not care about society's elitist view on academic intelligence? Do you support all women regardless of their job title and if they have plastic surgery or body modifications?" Syrena asks her followers in a singsong lilt, before asking if they also dream of owning dozens of shoes and idolize the late model Anna Nicole Smith. "I'm no doctor, but I think you may be a New Age bimbo!"
The prognosis: pink glitter and Juicy Couture velour sweatsuits.
@fauxrich(Opens in a new tab)
it’s my diagnosis, treatment is juicy couture and pink glitter
♬ original sound - 💖princess💖(Opens in a new tab)
The bimbo's resurgence is especially popular on TikTok, where, as (Opens in a new tab)Rolling Stone(Opens in a new tab) put it, bimbos are something of an "aspirational figure." The tag #bimbo has just over 81 million views. The tags #bimbotiktok and #bimbofication have 8.9 million views and 5.8 million views, respectively.
The phrase "bimbofication" gained notoriety in 2017, when an illustration of a buxom woman in a minidress picking up a book and transforming into someone more conservatively dressed went viral. Though the artist insisted that it was fetish art, not an anti-feminist condemnation of sexually confident women, the internet was outraged over the implication that women could be either hot or intelligent. In a (Opens in a new tab)Deviantart blog post(Opens in a new tab), the artist apologized for offending people, and wrote that the image was meant to satisfy a client's kink, not make a statement.
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The image took on a life of its own, and inspired memes, spin-offs, and even fanfiction(Opens in a new tab) that imagined the various versions of the woman as a queer book club. The meme format made a comeback in late November following Harry Styles' Vogue cover, which features the musician in a Gucci ball gown.
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Personally, I began jokingly calling myself a bimbo earlier this year when the term "himbo" started trending. Himbos are known for being traditionally masculine men — the himbo is hot and dumb, but above all, he respects women. When viral discourse over the term brought the word back to TikTok, young women asked why the word "bimbo" wasn't met with the same affection. Spoiler alert: It's the same reason femininity has been belittled and dismissed for centuries.
The short answer: Sexism!
Syrena, the 21-year-old diagnosing her followers as New Age bimbos, is a college student studying health science. As a woman in a rigorous educational program, Syrena rejects the expectation that to be taken seriously in professional or academic settings she has to distance herself from hyperfemininity.
"I think all-inclusive feminism includes boss babes, sluts, bimbos, PhD holders, single moms, and just ALL women in general."
"I think we don't have to 'be' anything to be taken seriously, as women should be taken seriously in all spaces regardless of how they look," Syrena said over Instagram DM. "I think all-inclusive feminism includes boss babes, sluts, bimbos, PhD holders, single moms, and just ALL women in general ... The people who believe it's anti-feminist are those who believe bimbos are who they are for the male gaze, which is completely untrue."
Syrena added that she herself had to unlearn her own "inner male gaze" in the process of identifying as a bimbo. Diving headfirst into the hyperfeminine should not be equated to giving in to the male gaze. The TikTok creators who identify as bimbos have made it clear they're putting on the costume not to appeal to men, but to make fun of them. Kate Muir, who posts on TikTok as bimbokate, told Rolling Stone that she uses her online persona to make men uncomfortable by pairing stereotypically feminine visuals with jarring messaging.
"Being a self-aware bimbo is amazing," she captioned(Opens in a new tab) one TikTok of herself dancing in front of a mirror. "You become everything men want visually whilst also being everything they hate (self-aware, sexually empowered, politically conscious.) Reverse the fetishisation of femininity."
The real appeal of the term, aside from consciously choosing to lean into your inherent hotness, is rejecting the societal expectation that women must have it all. (Anyone, Syrena explained in another video, can be hot with confidence.)
@fauxrich(Opens in a new tab)
Reply to @saddestsaphic we are ALL hot to someone and all NOT to someone... what are you to YOURSELF?
♬ original sound - 💖princess💖(Opens in a new tab)
To have some sort of value in American society, the modern woman is expected to be compassionate and maternal, but also ambitious and goal-oriented. On top of that, women are pressured to meet a constantly changing beauty standard. Juggling all of these expectations is so exhausting and instilled in women from such an early age, it's taking a psychological toll on teenage girls. In his book The Triple Bind: Saving Our Teenage Girls From Today's Pressures, University of California, Berkeley, psychology professor Stephen Hinshaw described the juggling act as excelling at "girl skills," achieving "boy goals," and being "models of female perfection." Between conflicting messaging about being both family- and career-oriented, plus immense pressure to be sexually appealing from a young age, the teenagers Hinshaw profiled in his case studies were "set up for crisis" and at higher risk for anxiety, depression, and other mental health disorders.
Which is why the bimbo resurgence is transgressive — by leaning into the caricature of femininity, Gen Z's New Age bimbos are turning the male gaze back on itself.
Jaime Hough teaches introductory gender studies courses at Washington State University and wrote her PhD dissertation on women's expression of sexuality. Dealing with that triple bind, as Hinshaw describes it, is an exhausting, lifelong juggle. Hough is especially enamored by the resurgence of the bimbo because it's such a middle finger to that triple bind.
"I’m just going to care for myself, feel good, and look pretty. Fuck the rest of you."
"I think part of bimbofication is saying I'm not going to do it all," Hough said in a phone interview. "Today I'm just going to focus on being pretty, because I want to. I'm going to let go of being assertive, going to let go of caring for everyone else. I'm just going to care for myself, feel good, and look pretty. Fuck the rest of you."
The modern bimbo is inherently anti-capitalist too, because no matter how intelligent, accomplished, and ambitious they may be, contributing to the market is not a priority. Everyone has likely performed some form of (Opens in a new tab)unpaid emotional labor(Opens in a new tab) at some point in their lives, but women take on more of it than cis men. From waking up earlier than cis male coworkers to get ready in the mornings, to doing the bulk of household duties because men simply "aren't as good at it," to (Opens in a new tab)regulating their emotions(Opens in a new tab) to appear more approachable.
"In our culture, we rely on women to do almost all the emotional labor we don't teach men how to do," Hough said. "And so, women are always carrying this huge mental emotional burden of thinking not just about what I want to do, but whose feelings are going to get hurt and how can I do it in a way that their feelings don't get hurt? How can I achieve my goals without making anyone feel threatened?"
Being a bimbo also involves rejecting the pressure to be constantly productive.
In addition to the triple bind young women face, all young people are expected to meet some level of productivity. If something isn't directly related to self-improvement, it's not seen as valuable in American culture. The labor and expense women put into maintaining their appearance, Hough added, isn't directly profitable, but that doesn't mean it isn't work. Being a bimbo also involves rejecting the pressure to be constantly productive.
"I believe that productivity is constantly fed to society as being a slave to capitalism by working or thinking about work," Syrena said. "I think productivity can be learning something random that you like."
Identifying as a bimbo is so enjoyable because, whether it's feminist or not, you're allowing yourself to be selfish for once. If you have to spend hours futzing with your appearance to have any value in this capitalist hellscape, why not make it your entire personality?
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Don't confuse the New Age bimbo with girlboss second-wave feminism. The New Age bimbo is intersectional, and transcends gender or heterosexuality. Though the classic bimbo is a skinny, blonde, heterosexual white woman, TikTok's modern bimbos are queer, trans, people of all races and of any and all body types. Chrissy Chlapecka, a 20-year-old TikTok creator who wrote the "Bimbo Bibble," styles her videos as (Opens in a new tab)open letters(Opens in a new tab) to "the girls, the gays, the theys," and (Opens in a new tab)"anyone who, unfortunately, likes men."(Opens in a new tab)
Anyone who embraces femininity can be a bimbo; TikTok has also come up with the gender neutral term "thembo" to describe someone who's hot, dumb, and respects women. TikTok creator little_sun_boy coined the phrase "bimboy" as a spin-off of himbos. Instead of someone who's large, masculine, and ditzy, the 24-year-old creator explains that the bimboy is small, feminine, and ditzy. In an Instagram DM, little_sun_boy clarified that while the bimboy is feminine and ditzy, he isn't ditzy because he's feminine.
@little_sun_boy(Opens in a new tab)
##bimboy(Opens in a new tab)
♬ Cute - Prod by Rose(Opens in a new tab)
Ultimately, the bimbo's newfound popularity points to a shift away from the belittling of femininity. Hough noted that stereotypical hyperfeminine women in children's media, like Sharpay in High School Musical and Yzma in Emperor's New Groove were written as the movies' villains and, though it's subtle, that messaging only adds to the triple bind young women grapple with in their childhoods.
Nothing is black and white, though, and categorizing traits, goals, and interests into "for boys" and "for girls" is harmful for all impressionable kids. I myself was reluctant to admit my own queerness because I was so insistent that being hyperfeminine could only mean that I was heterosexual, and when I did come to terms with it, I overcompensated by getting rid of my frilly wardrobe and extensive makeup collection. But surprise! You can be two things at once! I, for one, have now leaned even further into hyperfemininity with an even more extensive makeup collection and a newfound zest for wearing over-the-top looks that I put on for my own artistic enjoyment, not for a man's.
Distancing from the color pink is a common experience in feminist circles. Hough and many of her peers in academia were reluctant to embrace the color that had been forced upon them since birth. A (Opens in a new tab)2011 study(Opens in a new tab) led by Stefan Puntoni, an associate professor of marketing at the Rotterdam School of Management, (Opens in a new tab)concluded(Opens in a new tab) that the relentlessly pink, gendered marketing used in breast cancer awareness ads actually may repel the women the ads are targeting. Female participants were less likely to think they were at risk for breast cancer and ovarian cancer when they were shown pink advertisements than when they were shown colorless or neutral-toned ones. Participants were also less likely to donate to the causes when shown pink marketing materials. Puntoni hypothesized that the color pink triggered a "defense mechanism" that made some female participants unconsciously ignore or downplay the advertisement's message.
New Age bimbos subvert the patriarchy by reclaiming femininity without pitting women against each other.
American culture has a habit of forcing femininity and masculinity on children from birth, so rejecting the color pink is a natural reaction to foisting bubblegum bows and flamingo-toned tutus on infant girls. But distancing yourself from femininity for the sake of distancing yourself from women is just internalized misogyny. The sexist and backhanded compliment (Opens in a new tab)"not like other girls"(Opens in a new tab) has been reborn and recirculated in different forms over the last two decades, from bimbofication fetish art to the (Opens in a new tab)"Bruh girl" versus "Hi girlie" trope(Opens in a new tab)s popularized on TikTok this year. Regardless of whether they identify as women, New Age bimbos subvert such patriarchal categorizations by reclaiming femininity without pitting women against each other, whatever their gender may be.
"One of the things I love about this new wave of bimbofication is that it's very anti-hierarchical, and no one's degree makes them better or smarter, that's not a thing we value," Hough said. "This new wave of bimbofication is this idea that this is about self-love and self-pleasure. Anything that gets in the way of that, like traditional educational values or capitalist values, isn't worth it."
But then again, expecting that anything women do must be in the name of subversion goes against the modern bimbo's hedonist principles. All you need to do to be a new bimbo is be feminine, feel pretty, and not particularly care about what men want from you.
Cyndi Lauper put it best in her 1983 bimbo anthem: Girls (and gays and theys) just wanna have fun.
Website of this article：https://dointy.com/index.php?a=index&aid=67315&c=View&m=home
Wherever there is content extolling the benefits of masturbation, so too will you find a whole onslaught of voices condemning it. The topic always comes along with conversations about frequency, namely: Doing it too much. "While anxieties and negative attitudes about sexuality can be found throughout history, masturbation has particularly been a behavior of concern," says Sarah Melancon(opens in a new tab), Ph.D, a sociologist, clinical sexologist, and resident expert at The Sex Toy Collective.
Libido is built out of our reward system — and so the more positive experiences you have, the more you want. Masturbation and orgasms beget wanting more masturbation, sex, and orgasms. TL;DR: masturbation is amazing. Solo sex is a fantastic (and free!) way to de-stress, unwind, and boost positive neuro-transmitters(opens in a new tab). It can also help boost mood and self-esteem.
At the same time, there is nuance. Zachary Zane(opens in a new tab), author of Boyslut: A Memoir and Manifesto(opens in a new tab) and sex expert for Momentum Intimacy(opens in a new tab), points out, you can do pretty much anything too much. "Masturbation only becomes an issue if it's negatively affecting other aspects of your life," he says. For instance, if your masturbation habits have you skipping work, ditching sex with your partner, or are causing pain or injury, then it may be worth it to reevaluate your masturbation habits. "But if it's NOT negatively impacting your life in any way, then keep at it! Enjoy it," Zane says.
In all likeliness, your wanking habits are probably completely normal and fine.
In all likeliness, your wanking habits are probably completely normal and fine. And so, for this glorious month that is Masturbation May, we will be doing away with the pervasive idea that if you’re getting off too much, you’re doing something wrong or shameful or might break your dick/clit. Let’s shift the mindset.
The roots of 'dangerous masturbation'
Why are people so obsessed with how often you touch your junk? Melancon says that it’s pretty heavily based in religion. "Many religions condemn sexual activity(opens in a new tab) outside of heterosexual marriage, including masturbation," she says. "In Judeo-Christian religions, masturbation is considered a sin." This harks back to the "spilling the seed" story of Onan in the Bible. Onan was having sex with his brother’s wife and instead of climaxing inside her, he pulled out so that she wouldn't carry his off-spring. You know, a really cute and chill situation. God obviously curses him for spilling his seed because, well, The Bible. Ironically, the story on which this concept is based actually describes Onan pulling out rather than masturbation.
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In the Victorian era(opens in a new tab), masturbation was thought to cause mental illness. These pervasive views on the dangers and evils of masturbation may be more coded in 2023, but the ghosts of the past still seem to follow us.
Can you actually masturbate TOO much?
Basically, not really. As long as you’re not rubbing yourself raw or ditching work to pound it out 24-7, Silva Neves(opens in a new tab), an accredited psychosexual and relationship psychotherapist, says that getting yourself off is not an issue you need to be worried about. "There is no evidence to suggest that masturbation is bad, and there is no agreed definition on measuring what is 'too much,' because everybody's limits are subjective and individual," he says.
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What’s more, there is no evidence that frequent masturbation is in any way bad or addictive. The idea that masturbating too much can become a problem is heavily steeped in shame and sex negativity. Neves tells us that using terms like "porn addiction" or "sex addiction" is highly problematic — as it both increases shame around sex and is not endorsed by either the ICD or the DSM-5 as an addiction.
Long story short: You can’t masturbate too much as long as you aren’t hiding away in your room, ignoring your friends, family, and obligations in order to get off constantly. It’s about cultivating healthy habits.
How you feel about masturbation informs how you feel about your behaviors.
It’s not usually about whether you’re masturbating too much, it’s about how you FEEL about the behavior. A recent study(opens in a new tab) found four groupings of individuals based on masturbation frequency and sexual satisfaction.
High masturbation frequency + Satisfied
Low/no masturbation frequency + Satisfied
High masturbation frequency + Dissatisfied
Low/no masturbation frequency + Dissatisfied
For those who reported high masturbation frequency and dissatisfaction, Melancon says that this group probably consists of people who view masturbation as being either bad or "less than" partnered sex. "This would likely include individuals using masturbation as a coping mechanism as well as individuals who are lonely and would rather at least some of their masturbation was actually partnered sexual activity instead," she says. What’s more, studies have shown(opens in a new tab) that people who have higher levels of religious belief are more likely to view their masturbation habits as "addictive," when the behaviors themselves are by no means clinically compulsive.
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If you can shift away from the idea that masturbation = less than, gross, wrong, or addictive and into a mindset of masturbation = happy, healthy, and normal, you’re likely to see a massive improvement in how you perceive your habits. After all, masturbation is a healthy and OK form of sexual activity. Enough with the shame.
Dealing with death grip.
Like all good things in life, you might run into problems. Death Grip refers to masturbating in a repeated way, with a very tight grip on the penis. It can also refer to clitorises that are receiving the same, intense form of stimulation (often with a vibrator), leading to temporarily diminished effectiveness of other forms of sexual activity. The term "Death Grip" was originally coined by sex columnist Dan Savage in 2003. Savage was also the first person to coin the term "pegging" (when a cis-man is anally penetrated by someone wearing a strap-on or dildo).
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Death Grip is not an official medical diagnosis — it’s a recognized phenomenon that has been seen in many clinical settings. But, the aim should be dealing with it without pathologizing people. Death grip is actually highly treatable and highly subjective. It’s only a problem if you believe it’s a problem and want to do something about it. There’s nothing wrong with preferring or even needing one form of stimulation to receive pleasure, if that’s what you want.
If you’re experiencing Death Grip and feel like you’re losing sensation, change up your masturbation habits. Kenneth Play, an international educator and the bestselling author of Beyond Satisfied: A Sex Hacker’s Guide to Endless Orgasms, Mind-Blowing Connection, and Lasting Confidence(opens in a new tab), refers to "Habit Loops That Rule Our Sex Lives." He tells us that "The more you masturbate in a particular way, the more deeply ingrained a particular pathway to orgasm becomes, and our sexual identity forms around it. Our habits create a fast track to pleasure, and they can put up roadblocks to other forms of sex."
"When we masturbate in different ways for a couple of weeks, we start to rewire our habit loops, and we can learn new ways of getting pleasure."
It’s not that you’re damaging your penis/clit or causing permanent desensitization, it’s just that you’ve gotten used to masturbating in a certain way — and so other forms of sex don’t feel as intense. "We can break our habit loops by turning down the volume on them for a while. We can put the vibrator away or relax the death grip on our penises," Play says. "When we masturbate in different ways for a couple of weeks, we start to rewire our habit loops, and we can learn new ways of getting pleasure."
Melancon also suggests bringing in a mindfulness practice. “Mindfulness-style practices can help one expand one’s sensory awareness, so over time a lighter grip can become more pleasurable,” she says. Staying connected to our bodies can help to foster stronger connections between our genitals and our minds.
It’s not that you’re masturbating too much, it might just be that you’re masturbating in the same way a bit too much. It might mean that you’re masturbating in a way that isn’t super connected to your body and doesn’t foster a ton of awareness. Masturbation frequency doesn’t need to cause problems if we cultivate a creative and positive mindset around it. Death Grip isn’t permanent and it simply means a change-up might be in order.
All in all, your masturbation habits are probably completely fine and we’d do better to celebrate self-love, rather than demonize it.
Bobcat rescued after being stuck in a cars grill for miles on Thanksgiving
A bobcat just received the best Thanksgiving miracle: a second chance at life.
Richmond Animal Care and Control(opens in a new tab) in Virginia rushed to the aid of the wild, big kitty after it was struck with a car on Thanksgiving Day by a citizen on her way to work.
According to their Facebook post(opens in a new tab), the woman parked her car only to find the bobcat unable to move inside the grill.
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Rescuers rushed to the scene where they sedated and freed the bobcat, according to the Facebook post. He was then transferred to another animal care center, the Wildlife Center of Virginia for further treatment.
Luckily for the cat, he only endured one minor scrape on his back.
Trump praises Native Americans and uses racial slur in the same sentence
You may have survived Thanksgiving with your racist uncle, but President Donald Trump won't let that feeling of relief last long.
At an event honoring the Navajo code talkers who played a vital role in the U.S. military during World War II, Trump couldn't stop himself from making a racist dig at Sen. Elizabeth Warren, calling her "Pocahontas."
here is the video of Trump calling Elizabeth Warren 'Pocahontas' at an event honoring Native American veterans. cringy pic.twitter.com/FrbMSBXM7L(opens in a new tab)
— Alazar Moges (@zarzarbinkss) November 27, 2017(opens in a new tab)
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After three of the 13 remaining Navajo code talker veterans had the chance to share their history in the Oval Office on Monday, the president got up to give his remarks. The Navajo code talkers(opens in a new tab) served in the Marine corps during World War II, communicating top-secret messages in a code derived from their complex native language.
Trump immediately handed over a binder of his prepared statements to the veterans, and proceeded to go off book. And that can only mean disaster with him.
In his typical image-obsessed fashion, he first complimented the "good genes" of the elderly veterans. Then things got downright offensive.
After admiring the Native American veterans' long history in the United States, he told them, "we have a representative in Congress who they say was here a long time ago. They call her 'Pocahontas.'"
And the moment was as horrifying and awkward as it sounds.
Trump meeting with Navajos at the WH today tells them they have a representative in Congress. "They call her Pocahontas," he said. @jeffzeleny(opens in a new tab) reports there was an awkward silence
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) November 27, 2017(opens in a new tab)
The president's derogatory nickname for Warren stems from the Massachusetts senator's claims that she has Cherokee ancestors. Although Warren was criticized by the press during her 2012 Senate race for not being able to back up these claims, Trump seems to think it's okay to make up a racist nickname for her.
And as many have pointed out, it's not okay.
Your dumb racist uncle somehow became President https://t.co/poCOApIYWn(opens in a new tab)
— Dan Pfeiffer (@danpfeiffer) November 27, 2017(opens in a new tab)
Extremely good and normal to make native American WWII veterans listen to an ethnic slur while standing near a portrait of Andrew Jackson
— Dave Weigel (@daveweigel) November 27, 2017(opens in a new tab)
"Pocahontas" is a racial slur. This behavior is malicious, deranged, and precisely what we have come to expect. https://t.co/OFlQmLp0Ln(opens in a new tab)
— Lauren Duca (@laurenduca) November 27, 2017(opens in a new tab)
Some also pointed out the tone deaf juxtaposition of celebrating Native American war heroes in front of a presidential portrait of Andrew Jackson, who was responsible for the death and displacement of many Native Americans, and who also happens to be one of President Trump's favorite predecessors.
Sen. Warren responded to the president's remarks on television shortly after the event.
WATCH: Elizabeth Warren responds to Trump's "Pocahontas" remark on @MSNBC(opens in a new tab):
"It is deeply unfortunate that the President of the United States cannot even make it through a ceremony honoring these heroes without having to throw out a racial slur." pic.twitter.com/au1QntxDzR(opens in a new tab)
— NBC News (@NBCNews) November 27, 2017(opens in a new tab)
Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders had other ideas, telling the press corps that she thought categorizing Trump's "Pocahontas" jab as a slur was "ridiculous."
UPDATE Nov. 27 3:55 p.m. PT
The Navajo Nation responded to the incident with a statement, insisting that "cultural insensitivity is unfortunate."
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Trump threw shade at Obama during his first Thanksgiving turkey pardon
Terry Crews on alleged sexual assaulter back at work: SOMEONE GOT A PASS
Since practically Day 1 of the sexual misconduct reckoning in Hollywood, Terry Crews was one of the strongest voices speaking truth to power. Now that his alleged harasser has been welcomed back to work, he's not backing down.
Crews famously accused a "high level Hollywood executive" of groping him at a 2016 party, leading top WME talent agent Adam Venit to take a leave of absence. Mashable has confirmed that Venit returned to work on Monday.
For his part, Crews did not mince words in his response to this development:
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Sources familiar with the situation tell us that after a two-week internal investigation, Venit was suspended for 30 days without pay and demoted from head of the powerful agency's motion picture group. Even without that title, Venit is a true Hollywood power broker who represents high-profile celebrities like Adam Sandler, Sylvester Stallone, Emma Stone, Dustin Hoffman, Liam Hemsworth and Steve Martin.
Presumably, Venit returns to WME even while still under investigation by the LAPD, after Crews filed a police report about the incident last month.
Crews says that personally called on Ari Emanuel, co-CEO of WME, with his concerns. In a Tweet, Crews posted pictures of a HuffPost article Emanuel wrote in 2011 demanding that Mel Gibson be blacklisted from entertainment for his infamous anti-Semitic tirade.
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According to Crews, he gave Emanuel a printout of the article with a few edits. Emanuel – the man who in all likelihood chose to reinstate Venit – allegedly handed it back to Crews, claiming that "it's different."
In the past month, Crews has gone on record about the incident, while also shining a spotlight on how both race and gender factor into sexual harassment.
ABC Breaking News(opens in a new tab) | Latest News Videos(opens in a new tab)
As this cultural shift in sexual assault continues to unfold, it's important to note which victims and predators slip through the cracks. Crews remains steadfast in his bravery as he demonstrates that victims are often not treated equally.
And, in some cases, alleged perpetrators are still apparently considered too big to fail.
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Fake Roy Moore accuser tries to trick the Washington Post and fails spectacularly
Project Veritas, you just played yourself.
The group, founded by conservative "guerrilla journalist" James O’Keefe, tried to expose the Washington Post(opens in a new tab) but ended up looking pretty dumb in the end.
It all started when a woman approached the Post with a story. She said that when she was 15 years old, she'd been impregnated by Roy Moore, the Alabama senate candidate who has been accused of sexually harassing and assaulting teenage girls.
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But when the Washington Post fact-checked her story(opens in a new tab), it didn't add up -- and then they watched her walk into the New York offices of Project Veritas. The "sting" was supposed to expose, I don't know, some liberal conspiracy against Moore. Instead it showed just how professional and thorough the Washington Post is when it comes to checking facts.
The story was met with delight online.
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The botched undercover investigation shouldn't come as a surprise. This is the guy whose organization failed to get a CNN reporter onto a boat filled with dildos(opens in a new tab), and who outed its own plan to infiltrate a George Soros event by forgetting to hang up the phone(opens in a new tab).
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The conversation between the woman and Washington Post reporter was supposed to be off the record. But when the Post found out her true motives, all bets were off, according to executive editor Martin Baron
“We always honor ‘off-the-record’ agreements when they’re entered into in good faith," Baron said. "But this so-called off-the-record conversation was the essence of a scheme to deceive and embarrass us. The intent by Project Veritas clearly was to publicize the conversation if we fell for the trap. Because of our customary journalistic rigor, we weren’t fooled, and we can’t honor an ‘off-the-record’ agreement that was solicited in maliciously bad faith.”
O'Keefe didn't respond when the Post asked "if he was working with Moore, former White House adviser and Moore supporter Stephen K. Bannon, or Republican strategists."
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But he did try to defend himself by bragging about trending on Twitter, and then releasing a totally unrelated video before asking his supporters for more money.
So, take that, competent mainstream media.
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Trump threw shade at Obama during his first Thanksgiving turkey pardon
Blogger gets seven years in jail after writing about toxic spill in Vietnam
A court in Vietnam has sentenced a blogger to seven years in jail for reports he wrote about a toxic spill in the country.
On Monday Nguyen Van Hoa was found guilty of spreading "anti-state propaganda" about a chemical spill that occured in Vietnam in 2016.
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The spill, which occured in April, has been dubbed the country's worst environmental disaster. It happened when Formosa Ha Tinh Steel, a Taiwanese-owned steel factory released chemicals which included cyanide, into the sea.
The discharge killed marine life, causing at least 70 tonnes of dead fish(opens in a new tab) to be washed ashore and destroyed some 200 hectares of coral reef. Hundreds of people were believed to have fallen ill after eating the poisoned fish.
Thousands of demonstrators had come out to the factory protesting(opens in a new tab) and demanding compensation. It was these protests that the 22-year-old blogger wrote about that led to his arrest earlier this year.
“The sentencing of Nguyen Van Hoa shows how profoundly the government’s paranoid desire to maintain political control trumps notions of justice and human rights," Phil Robertson, deputy director of Human Rights Watch Asia told the New York Times. (opens in a new tab)
"How else can one explain that executives of an international firm that poisoned the ocean... are free to go about their business while this idealistic young journalist is heading to prison for helping expose their misdeeds?"
'Defaming' the government
But Nguyen isn't the only blogger to be affected.
Another blogger, Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, known as Mother Mushroom, was jailed earlier in June(opens in a new tab) this year for 10 years, for distributing propaganda against the state.
Mother Mushroom first rose to prominence in 2006 writing about political and environmental issues.
Her blog was frequently critical of the government, and she wrote about controversial issues like Beijing's financing of a bauxite mine in Vietnam and the government's handling of the toxic chemical spill.
At a closed-door trial, a judge said she had defamed the government(opens in a new tab) and published inaccurate information, among other charges.
Vietnamese blogger Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, also known as "Mother Mushroom" (L)Credit: AFP/Getty Images
Vietnam's government was heavily criticised after it remained silent for weeks after the chemical spill incident, only coming out later in June (opens in a new tab)to acknowledge that Formosa had indeed leaked chemicals into the South China Sea.
The company later admitted responsibility and agreed to pay $500 million in damages.
It re-opened (opens in a new tab)in May this year, with the organisation saying it would "improve environmental safety measures" and aim to re-start commercial production by the end of the year.
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If Trump doesnt believe the Access Hollywood tape is real, he should just ask Billy Bush
That President Donald Trump would buy into a conspiracy theory isn't a surprise.
That he would concoct a new one that attempts to completely retcon his own history shows that, even after an absolutely bananas 10 months in office, he still has the power to stun us.
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But that's where we're at as word continues to spread that Trump is privately suggesting the infamous Access Hollywood tape -- the one published by the (opens in a new tab)Washington Post(opens in a new tab) in which Trump audibly advocates sexual assault to a chuckling Billy Bush -- may not be real.
The New York Times first reported(opens in a new tab) the whisperings as a buried nugget in a story about how Trump is tacitly endorsing Roy Moore in the Alabama senate race despite the heap of allegations facing Moore.
And, on Monday, the Times' White House reporter Maggie Haberman said a third person has reported Trump's doubts over that being his voice on the tape.
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This all despite the fact that Trump fessed up and even offered an apology(opens in a new tab) for his statements after the story broke and his continuing to defend the conversation as "locker room talk."
But no matter how much Trump may be trying to convince others -- or even himself -- that the video isn't him, if there's one person who knows the truth, it's Billy Bush.
A littler over a week after the Post published the tape, Bush was fired by NBC(opens in a new tab) from his job at The Today Show. And though it would take months for Bush to publicly address the incident, he gave no indication that the conversation is, in any way, fake.
Speaking to (opens in a new tab)The Hollywood Reporter(opens in a new tab) in May 2017, Bush said:
"Looking back upon what was said on that bus, I wish I had changed the topic. [Trump] liked TV and competition. I could've said, 'Can you believe the ratings on whatever?' But I didn't have the strength of character to do it."
When considering he was fired for his part in the conversation but Trump was elected president, Bush noted, "the irony was glaring."
And if there's a guy who you think would try to claim the "tape is fake" card, it's the guy who actually lost his job because of it.
The conversation was recorded in 2005 and one can forgive a fuzzy memory, especially from a man who has spewed so much vitriol just in the last 2.5 years, let alone the last decade. But even Trump can't possibly be this delusional, right?
For their part, the folks at (opens in a new tab)Access Hollywood(opens in a new tab) are standing firm and saying that, yes, the tape is real.
Bush hasn't commented on this latest wrinkle but he was recently hit in the head by a golf ball(opens in a new tab) which, frankly, would give him a far better excuse than Trump for having a hazy recollection.
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Donald Trump just retweeted anti-Muslim videos from a British extreme far-right group
UPDATE (3:15 p.m. ET): Updated to include White House comment on the videos.
U.S. President Donald J. Trump woke up Wednesday morning and retweeted three anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant, unverified videos from the deputy leader of one of Britain's most extreme far-right groups, Britain First.
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Credit: realdonaldtrump/twitter
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Credit: REALDONALDTRUMP/TWITTER
The Twitter feed of Jayda Fransen, who was convicted(opens in a new tab) of religiously aggravated harassment last year after hurling abuse at a woman in hijab in front of her four young children, is basically just a stream of hateful content targeting Muslims and immigrants.
Fransen was charged again(opens in a new tab) with religiously aggravated harassment in September this year.
She was ecstatic that the U.S. President retweeted her unverified videos:
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Last year, Britain First announced(opens in a new tab) it was launching "direct action campaign against Muslim elected officials" targeting "where they live, work, pray". They singled out Sadiq Khan, mayor of London, and Sajid Javid, cabinet minister.
The killer of British MP Jo Cox, Thomas Mair, reportedly shouted “Britain First”(opens in a new tab) as he shot and stabbed the Labour MP last year, one week before of the EU referendum.
Cox's husband tweeted in response to Trump's retweets:
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The first video tweeted by Fransen is entitled "Muslim migrant beats up migrant boy on crutches" but according Geenstijl(opens in a new tab), the news site that posted it, "the perpetrator was not Muslim or a migrant, but a Dutchman."
Credit: Geenstijl/screengrab
On Wednesday morning, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters that whether or not the videos were real, "these are real threats we have to talk about.
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Meghan Markle started on Deal or No Deal way before her big royal engagement
Meghan Markle knows all about making important decisions.
Before she became a paralegal on Suits and Prince Harry's future bride, she was a briefcase model on Deal or No Deal.
According to TMZ(opens in a new tab), she appeared in 34 episodes and modeled three different briefcases.
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6 things you need to know about Meghan Markle now that she's about to become a royal
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"I went from working in the U.S. Embassy in Argentina to ending up on Deal. It's run the gamut," she told Esquire(opens in a new tab) back in 2013. "Definitely working on Deal or No Deal was a learning experience, and it helped me to understand what I would rather be doing."
Although she appreciated the opportunity, Markle didn't shy away from telling the publication about the tiring experience: "I would end up standing up there forever in these terribly uncomfortable and inexpensive five-inch heels just waiting for someone to pick me so I could go and sit down."
Despite her time as a case model, people applaud her for where she ended up -- being future royalty.
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Prince Harry and 'Suits' actress Meghan Markle are officially engaged
NBC employees reveal chilling details of Matt Lauers alleged sexual harassment
Details on the alleged inappropriate behavior leading to Today co-host Matt Lauer's ouster from NBC have surfaced – including sex toys as gifts, coerced sex with female employees and the disturbing report that Lauer had a button under his desk that could lock the door to his secluded office from within.
NBC's initial statement Wednesday cited one complaint from a fellow female employee dating back to the Sochi Olympics. But in a memo, NBC News chairman Andy Lack said that "while it is the first complaint about his behavior" during his 20 years at the network, "we were also presented with reason to believe this may not have been an isolated incident."
Hours later, Variety(opens in a new tab) revealed numerous, corroborated accounts of Lauer's widespread sexual harassment at the network from women who declined to be named.
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Allegations ranged from inappropriate "games" regarding coworkers' sex lives, to gifting a female colleague a sex toy with a lewd note about how he wanted her to use it, and even exposing himself to an employee in his office before berating her for not performing sex acts on him. Ten employees described Lauer's "fixation" on women, both at 30 Rockefeller and out in the field on assignment, including frequent comments on female staffers' appearances and sex lives.
Perhaps most chillingly, Lauer reportedly had a button in his office desk that could discretely lock the door. Two victims of his harassment said this emboldened his inappropriate behavior.
The New York Times(opens in a new tab) later reported Wednesday that NBC subsequently received at least two more complaints, one from a former employee who said Lauer summoned her and had sex with her in his office in 2001. The unidentified woman told the Times "she felt helpless because she didn’t want to lose her job, and that she didn’t report the encounter at the time because she felt ashamed."
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Though the network insisted it received its first complaint on Monday, many victims say they'd previously brought his behavior to the attention of NBC executives. One former reporter said that "management sucks there," and claimed executives "protected the shit out of Matt Lauer."
Lauer is the third high-ranking NBC employee to recently be terminated from the network for inappropriate sexual behavior at the workplace, joining Today correspondent Mark Halperin and senior top talent booker Matt Zimmerman.
The network initially declined to comment on Variety's story. But a spokesperson gave a CNN reporter a statement(opens in a new tab) claiming that, "We can say unequivocally, that, prior to Monday night, current NBC News management was never made aware of any complaints about Matt Lauer’s conduct.”
While sources accounted for consensual relationships between Lauer and some NBC staffers, they also questioned the enormous power discrepancy involved. Producers from the network echoed the worry that denying Lauer's alleged advances would pose a risk to their careers.
"He couldn’t sleep around town with celebrities or on the road with random people, because he’s Matt Lauer and he’s married," one producer told Variety. "So he’d have to do it within his stable, where he exerted power, and he knew people wouldn’t ever complain."
As for the alleged Olympics incident cited by NBC, it appears to have been par for the course: Sources described how Lauer often initiated late-night hotel room visits with female employees during multiple Olympics.
Lauer often presented himself as a bastion of progressive ideals on camera. Only three months ago, he interviewed his essential equivalent star at Fox News, Bill O'Reilly, grilling him over his own sexual misconduct in the workplace.
Lauer has yet to comment or issue a statement.
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Kim Kardashian has an explanation for that Photoshop fail on her Instagram
It all started with an Instagram post.
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On March 24, Kim Kardashian posted a picture on Instagram which drew the internet's attention.
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People soon noticed a quirk in the background of the image. See the weird squished-looking car in the upper-right corner? People labelled it a "Photoshop fail."
Well, Kardashian has now weighed in with a blog post(opens in a new tab) entitled "What Photoshop Fail?!"
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"I'm seeing online and on news media outlets that I suffered a 'Photoshop fail,'" writes Kardashian. "So ridiculous! I reposted a picture on Instagram that a fan had already posted—I only added a filter to it. It looks like the fan mirrored the photo, which is the reason the car looks like that. So, this is actually really funny to me! Who would even Photoshop a car to look like that?! LOL."
Ariana Grande shares a heartbreaking tribute to Mac Miller
Ariana Grande shared a heartbreaking video of Mac Miller after news of his passing broke last week.
In the video she posted on Instagram on Friday, Miller is mid-conversation when he notices Grande filming.
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"Baby," he laughs, trying to cover her phone before hiding in his hoodie.
"It's for me," Grande responds. "It makes me happy."
She captioned the video with an emotional message to Miller:
"I adored you from the day I met when when I was nineteen and I always will. I can't believe you aren't here anymore. I really can't wrap my head around it. We talked about this. So many times. I'm so mad, I'm so sad I don't know what to do. You were my dearest friend. For so long. Above anything else. I'm so sorry I couldn't fix or take your pain away. I really wanted to. The kindest, sweetest soul with demons he never deserved. I hope you're okay now. Rest."
The video had nearly three million views in the past two hours.
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Grande and Miller dated for two years, and announced their split in May. In a statement, she said their relationship was "toxic" and said that although she tried to support his sobriety, "shaming / blaming women for a man’s inability to keep his shit together is a very major problem."
When fans blamed her for his death by overdose, she disabled comments on her Instagram. Grande went dark on social media, only reemerging to post a photo of Miller on Sunday.
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Mac Miller's funeral(opens in a new tab) will be held in his native Pittsburgh.
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'Crazy Rich Asians' stars test their rom-com classics knowledge
Single TV lovers will be able to connect through a new collaboration between dating app Bumble and Netflix. Starting Jan. 30, Bumble users can play "Netflix Nights In," an in-app game all about Netflix shows.
"Netflix Nights In" will feature trivia questions about top Netflix shows like Stranger Things, Love Is Blind, Squid Game, Emily in Paris, and more. A new show theme and questions will drop every Monday. Each week's questions will be introduced by someone from the corresponding show, such as actor Ashley Park from Emily in Paris and Love is Blind contestant Alexa Lemieux. Matches both have to answer the question before responses are revealed.
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"Our recent survey found that 72 percent of respondents have talked about TV and movies on a date, so we know this category is one our members enjoy discussing on their dating journey," said Bumble's global VP of partnerships Olivia Yu in a press release. "We look forward to bringing people together to celebrate their Netflix knowledge and help them find the date they've been watching for."
Bumble recently surveyed more than 2,800 members aged 18 and over in the U.S.. Not only do people talk about entertainment on a date, but Bumble also found that 78 percent of respondents said it's easier to chat when they have the same taste in TV and movies. Fifty-nine percent of Gen Z respondents said liking the same shows and films makes a match more appealing.
"We love seeing people connect over Netflix shows and films and create their own communities around them," said VP of marketing partnerships at Netflix, Magno Herran. "And with this partnership, we wanted to give people a way to find someone who gets them based on what they watch while leaning into 'if you know you know' Netflix references that have helped to spark many conversations."
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"Netflix Nights In" will be available each Monday on Bumble in the U.S., UK, and Canada from January 30 to March 13.
Merriam-Webster searches for slimeball up 60,000% after Trumps tweet about Comey
After President Trump's tweet describing former FBI director James Comey as a "slimeball," Merriam-Webster dictionary says searches for the word are up by 60,000 percent.
The president called Comey a "proven LEAKER & LIAR" in a series of tweets improperly strung together on Friday morning.
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"He lied to Congress under OATH," Trump tweeted. "He is a weak and untruthful slime ball who was, as time has proven, a terrible Director of the FBI."
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Comey's tell-all memoir won't be on shelves until next week, but in excerpts(opens in a new tab) published online, the former FBI director described Trump as "sitting on a throne" and compared him to a mob boss(opens in a new tab).
And as his tweets show, Trump didn't take it well.
According to a post from(opens in a new tab) Merriam-Webster, searches for "slimeball" were up 60,000 percent since the president's disparaging remarks about Comey.
"We define it as 'a morally repulsive or odious person," the dictionary tweeted.
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Merriam-Webster's report points out that although both "slime" and "ball" have been part of the English language for thousands of years, the two words didn't become a combined phrase until 1972 when the Pittsburgh Post-Gazetteused "slimeball" in reference to pushing someone down a fire escape.
"Although Trump rendered the word as an open compound (slime ball) in his tweet," the report cheekily stated, "the traditional form is as a closed compound (slimeball)."
Since Trump's win during the 2016 presidential election, Merriam-Webster has has become somewhat of a a social media fact checker. With actions like highlighting "feminism" as its 2017 word of the year and subtweeting the president, the dictionary has been quietly protesting the Trump administration.
Twitter meme knows a spot for some absolutely terrible dates
With the coronavirus pandemic keeping us home for the past few months, going on dates and visiting new places have become but distant, fond memories. A new Twitter meme is now softening the sting of social distancing, reminding restless singles that, even if we could go out, trusting your date to bring you somewhere spectacular usually isn't as romantic as it sounds.
In the meme, Twitter users jokingly call people out for claiming to "know a spot," the phrase suggesting they're taking their date to an exciting surprise location for some private time together. However, instead of an intimate restaurant, secluded beach, or shady park, the inept Romeo takes their partner to a markedly less conventional date spot.
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While some are still sweet or merely unexpected, most locales in the meme are more upsetting, underwhelming, or abstract. Taking your date to the barn in Midsommar or "for granted" is a great way to make sure they never call you back.
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Some Twitter users have put an astrological twist on the meme, calling out various star signs' alleged attitudes toward dating.
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The meme has also spread beyond fumbling attempts at courtship, with Twitter users applying it to music, fandoms, and the harsh realities of life in a racially unjust society.
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We're all eager to escape the cabin fever, but staying at home as much as you can is still the most sensible option while the coronavirus continues to spread. Going out often doesn't live up to the hype anyway.
Pornhub has a new line of socks with porn stars on them, so you dont ruin your actual socks
Everyone has their own methods of self-care and self-love, and Pornhub has decided to kill two birds with one stone with their latest offering: athletic socks(opens in a new tab).
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Featuring adult film stars Asa Akira, Madison Ivy, and Jonny Sinns, the new socks come with a campaign that's positively erupting with double-entendres(opens in a new tab), like the hashtag "#beatyourself" and their suggestions for multiple uses.
From left to right: Asa Akira, Jonny Sinns, and Madison IvyCredit: Pornhub
Corey Price, VP of Pornhub, explains the reasoning behind the product: “For as long as I can remember, socks have served a dual purpose. Not only are they a staple of our everyday attire, but some people have MacGyvered them to serve as a tool for self-love and…clean up. Following our foray into the fitness and fashion industries, it made sense for us to release a sock line that appeals to both athletes and fashionistas, as well as self-love enthusiasts.”
Of course, Pornhub would never launch a new product without a tongue-in-cheek (or something-in-something, anyway) ad to go along with it, and the same can be said for this roll out, with an ad that takes on your favorite athletic gear provider.
Just do it, indeed!
Maybe you can pick up a pair to wear while working out with your BangFit after a fun night out. Or you can keep them on your bedroom floor for easy-to-reach clean-up.
Or you could... wear them as socks. But we've all seen that clip from American Pie.
At $18 for two pairs, it's on the pricier end for sock options, but it's unlikely you'll find socks screen-printed with porn stars on the rack at Target.
Here's hoping this new line of merch is a success and that, by winter, we'll get a wool version.
Disaster Girl meme NFT sells for $500,000 at auction
The trend of outrageous NFT auction sales continues with the sale of the "Disaster Girl" NFT(Opens in a new tab), which went for over $500,000 in an auction hosted by Foundation.
Even if you're unaware of Disaster Girl's title, you've probably seen the image if you've been on the internet longer than 10 minutes. The photo features Zoë Roth, the then-four-year-old who looked deviously at her father's camera in front of a burning house.
Credit: foundation auction
As reported in the New York Times, firefighters intentionally set the fire and let children take turns with the fire hose — so it wasn't a real "disaster." Still, as an image is worth a thousand words, the internet ran with Disaster Girl(Opens in a new tab) and it's now a popular meme. "Discovered by internet connoisseurs," the NFT caption(Opens in a new tab) explains, "it rapidly spread to every corner of the world, becoming one of the most recognizable images of the 21st century."
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The meme is so recognizable that the NFT, or non-fungible token, sold for 180 Ethereum, currently valued at over $500,000 USD, at a Foundation auction(Opens in a new tab). The winner is a user named @3Fmusic(Opens in a new tab), who's purchased many an NFT, which is basically a digital trading card, so far.
The Disaster Girl herself, Roth, is now a 21-year-old woman and a senior at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She told the Times she'll use the crypto fortune for charity donations and to pay off her student loans.
Additionally, Roth takes her pseudo internet fame in stride, telling the Times she's thankful. "People who are in memes and go viral is one thing, but just the way the internet has held on to my picture and kept it viral, kept it relevant, is so crazy to me," she said. "I’m super grateful for the entire experience."
Pornhub launches Cleanest Porn Ever campaign to fight coronavirus pandemic
Off the heels of offering free premium memberships for a month and its Scrubhub self-parody, Pornhub has announced yet another campaign to help stop the spread of COVID-19.
Cleanest Porn Ever(Opens in a new tab) is a campaign driven by Pornhub's Model Program community featuring instructional videos from performers all around the world. They'll start out with SFW-instructional tips by some of Pornhub's top models like Danika Mori, June Liu, and Pornhub Brand Ambassador Asa Akira — such as how to properly wash your hands and demonstrating how far apart six feet really is. The videos, published in English, Spanish, Russian, Japanese, Mandarin, German, French and Italian, will then move on to an uncensored scene.
Additionally, these videos will encourage users to have the safest sex possible. (Presumably, as New York City's Health Department guidelines stated, that means sex with oneself.)
"With a huge platform like Pornhub's, it’s important for them to spread the word on social distancing!" said Asa Akira, Pornhub's Brand Ambassador, in a press release. "I’m proud and honored they asked me to be a part of this project."
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Junie Liu, a member of Pornhub’s Model Program, said that even though the rates of COVID infection are headed in an optimistic direction, we still need to be vigilant when it comes to staying safe. "People must pay attention to safety and protection guidelines more than ever," she said in a press release.
"We’re grateful to our models for joining in this effort to help prevent the spread of the virus," said Corey Price, Vice President of Pornhub. "Instructional videos can be dry and boring, but this entertaining series proves that social distancing can still be sexy."
Pornstar Josy Black demonstrating hand-washing.Credit: pornhub
As previously reported, Pornhub will offer models 100 percent of their video sales after a processing fee of 15 percent for the month of April. This means that their total payout will be 85 percent. The site's Model Program has seen an average increase of 17 percent in sales per day, according to their latest press release.
"Wash your hands more frequently, respect social distance and wear masks," Liu reiterated. "You are not only doing this for yourself, but also for all the people you care about."
Alternative Christmas ornaments to discourage your cat from climbing the tree
Decorating the Christmas tree is one of the most fun parts of the holiday season, unless you have a cat.
Then, it can be a hazardous event putting all of your favorite ornaments when your cat may climb it and knock the whole thing down at any second.
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That's why we've compiled some ideas for Christmas ornaments that should discourage your cat from climbing the tree.
Cucumbers
Credit: shelby slauer
Cats are classically afraid of cucumbers(opens in a new tab), so if you place cucumber ornaments throughout your Christmas tree, they should jump in fear in the opposite direction.
(But don't leave cucumbers by your cats' food dish, it's cruel(opens in a new tab).)
A sprinkler system
Credit: shelby slauer
Think about installing a small network of sprinklers around your tree. This way, in the case of your cat climbing it, you can turn the sprinklers on in a moment's notice which will create a river that your cat must ride all the way downstream.
Added bonus: you don't have to worry about remembering to water the tree!
A laser pointer pointing away from the tree
Credit: shelby slauer
A laser pointer ornament is a good idea if you aim it far far away from the Christmas tree, and then you'll always know where your cat is for the rest of the holiday. It's a win-win.
A bigger cat telling your cat to turn around while it still has the chance
Credit: shelby slauer
Hang a bigger cat on your tree this year so that when your cat walks up, the tree cat can deliver an ominous speech that will make your cat want to turn around and immediately walk the other direction.
Fake branches
Credit: shelby slauer
Consider finding fake branch ornaments that look just like real branches. That way, when your cat tries to climb the tree they will be fooled and the ornament will provide no grip for them to continue climbing, and they will fall right down to the ground where they belong.
Slippery tree ribbon
Credit: shelby slauer
You can wrap ribbon around your branches as always, but this time cover it in mayonnaise or slime or something, so that when your cat tries to climb the tree it just slips right off like it's riding a Slip N' Slide.
A tree stand that makes the tree spin at blender-like speeds
Credit: shelby slauer
This isn't a Christmas ornament, per se, but if you buy a tree stand that has the capacity to spin your tree at blender-like speeds, your cat will fling right off into the next room any time it tries to climb it.
An open cat cage
Credit: shelby slauer
Probably the most simple ornament for discouraging your cat from climbing the tree is an open cat cage. They try once, they jump right into cat cage, they stay there for rest of Christmas season. Problem solved.
Covering the tree in Saran wrap
Credit: shelby slauer
This isn't a Christmas ornament either, but covering your entire tree, ornaments and all, in Saran wrap will definitely make it hard for your cat to climb it.
A mouse with a gun
Credit: shelby slauer
If all else fails, give a mouse firearms and hang it on your tree so in case your cat climbs it, it can claim self-defense.
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