We’re tracking the conservative culture clash with woke Hollywood hypocrites to keep you up to date on who’s winning and who we hate.
Here’s what happened today:
Silent
The trio who medaled in the Tokyo Olympics Women’s +87kg weightlifting final, the event that Laurel Hubbard became the first transgender to compete in, were asked by reporters how they felt about the New Zealanders’ performance.
Hubbard, 43, only began competing in international weightlifting events after she made her gender transition at 35, and her participation in the 2021 Games was met with international scrutiny.
However, the transgender athlete was the only one of twelve competitors that could not perform a clean lift after three attempts and came in last place.
When reporters tried to get a sound bite out of event medalists Li Wenwen of China, Emily Campbell of Great Britain, and Sarah Robles of the United States about Hubbard, they were met with nine seconds of awkward silence before Robles put the press out of their misery by simply answering, “no thank you.”
Arrested
The man suspected of leaving the scene of a hit-and-run crash that resulted in the death of “Gone Girl” actress Lisa Banes, has been arrested in New York City.
26-year-old Upper West Sider, Brian Boyd, was charged with failing to yield to a pedestrian at a crosswalk and fleeing the scene of an accident that caused a death on June 4th, which occurred on the same corner that he lives.
Banes suffered from a traumatic brain injury that took her life on Amsterdam Avenue at West 64th Street, as she was on her way to meet up with a friend for dinner while in town from Los Angeles.
Patrol officers recognized a photo of Boyd from a wanted poster and took him into custody.
Explanation
Amanda Knox detailed why she went after “Stillwater” director Tom McCarthy and star Matt Damon in a fiery Twitter rant earlier this month, after press for the film repeatedly referenced the “Amanda Knox case” as the film’s source material.
“I don’t think that the filmmakers can honestly say that they went far enough away from my case so that it wouldn’t be recognizably my case,” she told Variety. “And I think that that’s clear in all of the coverage where everyone’s like, ‘Oh, this is recognizably the Amanda Knox case.’ And from that audiences can then draw conclusions about me, whether or not those conclusions are accurate or not.”
She thinks McCarthy should have questioned if recycling the story was “responsible” and what “consequences” it would have.
“There’s been this ongoing idea that, ‘Well, as long as we call it fiction, then no one would honestly apply the ideas or feelings or conclusions that I bring with my imagination to the story to the real person,’” she continued. “And that’s simply not true.”
“And then Matt Damon and the director can walk away with a great story in their pocket,” she concluded. “But meanwhile, I’m still living with the consequences of people thinking that I am somehow involved in this crime that I am not involved in.”
Apology
Popstar Justin Bieber backtracked after recently endorsing country singer Morgan Wallen’s music in a recent post.
In a since-deleted post, Beiber shared a screenshot of Wallen’s “Sand In My Boots,” and captioned the photo, “Love this album.”
But apparently, the “Hold On” singer wasn’t aware of Wallen’s six-month-old N-word scandal and shunning from the country music scene, and made a retraction.
“I had no idea that the guy’s music I posted was recently found saying racist comments,” Bieber wrote on his Instagram story Wednesday. “As you know I dont support or tolerate any sort of racism or discrimination. I had no idea, I sincerely apologize to anyone I offended.”
He said he didn’t hear about Wallen’s viral N-word video because he doesn’t own a cell phone, and took the time to address his own past usage of the racial slur.
“When I was a kid, I was incredibly ignorant and said some very hurtful racist jokes that clearly were not funny,” he continued. “I hurt a lot of people especially the Black people in my life but was fortunate enough to have had them educate me on the horrifying origin of the n-word.”
“This brings those painful memories back up,” he concluded. “I will always take ownership for my ignorance and my past because I know I am not that person.”
Sued
Kendall Jenner is facing a $1.8 million lawsuit for breaching her contract with an Italian fashion brand.
Attorney’s for Liu Jo accused Jenner of being a no-show at the second of two planned photoshoots for which she was being paid $1.5 million up front, and a 20% service fee. Though she attended the first shoot in July 2019, she was unable to travel for the second, which was scheduled for March 2020, due to the pandemic.
The brand “proposed multiple alternative dates and locations,” but the model reportedly “repeatedly failed to provide Liu Jo with definitive responses to Liu Jo’s proposals, proposed no reasonable alternatives and ultimately turned down all of Liu Jo’s good-faith offers of compromise,” after being paid $1.35 million of her total fee.
Liu Jo said they were forced to restructure their entire Spring/Summer 2021 photoshoot and hire other models, while Jenner stated it was “impossible” to travel to Italy, despite reportedly doing so for a different brand.
The suit claims that Jenner “ceased responding” to the company’s requests, and didn’t contact them until “after Liu Jo informed her that it considered her in breach of the contract and that, therefore, the contract was terminated.”
Critic
“Guardians of the Galaxy” director James Gunn tore into “The Irishman” director Martin Scorsese for bashing his Marvel space adventure in 2019, claiming he did it to draw attention to his Robert De Niro crime family epic.
“I just think it seems awful cynical that he would keep coming out against Marvel — and then that is the only thing that would get him press for his movie,” Gunn accused. “He’s creating his movie in the shadow of the Marvel films, and so he uses that to get attention for something he wasn’t getting as much attention as he wanted for it.”
At the time Scorcese said the comic brand’s superhero flicks weren’t his jam. “I tried, you know? But that’s not cinema,” Scorsese remarked during his press tour for the film. “Honestly, the closest I can think of them, as well made as they are, with actors doing the best they can under the circumstances, is theme parks.”
Gunn did concede that the “Goodfella’s” director is in a class of his own. “Also for the record, Martin Scorsese is probably the world’s greatest living American filmmaker,” he continued. “I love & study his films & will continue to love & study his films. I disagree with him solely on one point: That films based on comic books are innately not cinema, that’s all.”
Teaching Moment
Popstar Miley Cyrus slammed cancel culture and offered to teach rapper DaBaby, who was dropped from several music festivals for homophobic commentary, “acceptance and open-mindedness.”
“@DaBaby check your DMS – would love to talk and see how we can learn from each other and help be part of making a more just and understanding future!” she said on Instagram Wednesday.
“As a proud and loyal member of the LGBTQIA+ community, much of my life has been dedicated to encouraging love, acceptance, and open-mindedness,” the “Wrecking Ball” singer wrote. “The internet can fuel a lot of hate & anger and is the nucleus of cancel culture…but I believe it can also be a place filled with education, conversation, communication & connection.”
She doesn’t think canceling the “VIBEZ” rapper is an acceptable response to his remarks. It’s easier to cancel someone than to find forgiveness and compassion in ourselves or take the time to chance hearts and minds,” she continued. “There’s no more room for division if we want to keep seeing progress! Knowledge is power! I know I still have so much to learn!”
F***ed Up Question
“Jungle Cruise” star Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson participated in a Q&A video with co-star Emily Blunt but was confronted with “f***ed up question about his anatomy.
While Blunt was asking Johnson some of the internet’s most searched questions about him, one query wondered “What’s wrong with The Rock’s abs?”
The former WWE wrestler was taken aback by the question. “That’s so f***ed up,” he remarked, and Blunt agreed. “That is f***ed up,” she reacted. “Who wrote that? What’s wrong with them?”
While Johnson alleged that normal people who were comparing him to fitness models on Instagram have unrealistic “six, eight, 12, 24-pack stomachs,” he conceded his “five and a half pack” was due to an injury he sustained while wrestling John Cena.
“In a wrestling match, I tore the top of my quad off my pelvis,” he remarked, noting that he tore part of his abdominal wall too and it required surgery. He joked that the question should be changed to “What did The Rock overcome.”
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Really? Complain about the Rocks abs!?!?!?! I’m sure the 98 pound weaklings that think that have trouble opening jars. Their jealous! The Rock is The Man!!