Monday Update: National Anthem Protesting Athlete Claims She Was Set Up At Olympic Trials, Richard Branson Tries To Beat Bezos Into Space, “Cops” Creator Dies In Off-Road Race

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:

Unpatriotic 

Olympic hammer thrower Gwen Berry claims she was “set up” when the National Anthem was played during the event’s medal ceremony, so she chose to turn her back on the flag and cover her face with a shirt printed with the slogan “Activist Athlete.” 

“I feel like it was a set-up, and they did it on purpose,” Berry said of the song’s timing. “I was pissed, to be honest.”

“They had enough opportunities to play the national anthem before we got up there,” the bronze medalist claimed. “I was thinking about what I should do. Eventually I stayed there and I swayed, I put my shirt over my head. It was real disrespectful.”

Berry asserted that she was told the anthem would be played prior to the athletes taking the podium, but a spokesperson for USA Track and Field commented that the song was broadcast according to schedule. 

“I don’t really want to talk about the anthem because that’s not important. The anthem doesn’t speak for me. It never has,” Berry snarked. “My purpose and my mission is bigger than sports. I’m here to represent those … who died due to systemic racism. That’s the important part. That’s why I’m going. That’s why I’m here today.”

Star Wars

Billionaire Sir Richard Branson is determined to beat Amazon founder Jeff Bezos into space, and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration just gave him a leg up in the competition by granting his company, Virgin Galactic, clearance to take passengers into the final frontier.

Branson is allegedly planning to take off prior to Bezos’ founded Blue Origin’s first manned flight on July 20.  

“Branson’s flight would take place about two weeks before Bezos, his brother Mark and the winner of an online auction are scheduled to board Blue Origin’s New Shepard vehicle for a suborbital flight,” according to a report.  

Surrender

Shock rocker Marilyn Manson has reportedly agreed to turn himself in to the Los Angeles Police Department, in response to an arrest warrant for his alleged assault of a contractor at one of his shows in 2019.

More than eighteen months after the warrant was issued in New Hampshire for repeatedly  spitting on a videographer during his concert, Manson will face a misdemeanor charge that carries a maximum sentence of up to a year in jail.

The embattled singer is currently being investigated by the LAPD on accusations of domestic violence by multiple accusers. He was dropped by his record label in early 2021, after his former fiance, “Westworld” actress Evan Rachel Wood, accused him of abuse on social media.  

Cult Accomplice

Ahead of sentencing for her role in recruiting and blackmailing women into joining NXIVM leader Keith Rainiere’s sex cult, “Smallville” actress Allison Mack apologized for her actions in court.  

“It is now of paramount importance for me to say, from the bottom of my heart, I am so sorry,” she wrote in a letter. “I threw myself into the teachings of Keith Raniere with everything I had.”

 “I believed, whole-heartedly, that his mentorship was leading me to a better, more enlightened version of myself,” she went on. “I devoted my loyalty, my resources, and, ultimately, my life to him. This was the biggest mistake and regret of my life.”

Mack pled guilty to manipulating women into becoming sex slaves for Rainiere, who was sentenced to 120 years in prison on multiple felonies in late 2020. 

“I am sorry to those of you that I brought into Nxivm. I am sorry I ever exposed you to the nefarious and emotionally abusive schemes of a twisted man. I am sorry that I encouraged you to use your resources to participate in something that was ultimately so ugly,” she concluded. 

“I do not take lightly the responsibility I have in the lives of those I love and I feel a heavy weight of guilt for having misused your trust, leading you down a negative path.”

RIP

“Cops” creator John Langley is dead after an off-road race in Mexico. The 78-year-old suffered a heart attack while participating in the Coast to Coast Ensenada-San Felipe 250 on Saturday.  

Langley was best known for the long-running reality show that followed on-duty police officers for over thirty seasons. “Cops” was pulled from broadcast television last year after George Floyd’s death sparked nationwide civil unrest.  

Former Skid Row singer Johnny Solinger also died on Saturday at the age of 55. A month prior he had announced to fans that he was suffering from liver failure.  

Solinger joined the band in 1999 and later left the group in 2015. His wife, actress Paula Marcenaro, announced his death in a post. “Johnny has passed. I was holding his hand. He went in peace. Thank you all. I will take a break from everything but please know I am forever grateful for your love.”

Marie Finn