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Dear Ivanka: Female Celebrities Are Calling On the First Daughter to Support Christine Blasey Ford


Word out of Washington, D.C. on Saturday, according to the New York Times, is that the Senate Judiciary Committee and lawyers representing Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, the woman who is accusing Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault during a party while they were in high school have reached a tentative agreement for her to testify publicly on Thursday.

In the coming days, we are sure to see both sides attempt to galvanize support on social media and beyond. Actress Alyssa Milano spoke to Glamour about her efforts to raise money for Ford. “I hope she feels the love and support and the heartache that women feel in standing in solidarity with her,” Milano said. “I want her to know that if she needs anything at all, that I’m here and I want to thank her for her bravery in doing the right thing for the country, even though it’s the harder thing for her personally.”

In yet another #DearIvanka campaign, other celebrities—like Busy Philipps, Amy Schumer, and Sophia Bush—are using their large social media platforms to call on First Daughter and White House senior advisor Ivanka Trump to get the administration to conduct an FBI investigation into the charges.

Philipps writes, “Dear @IvankaTrump, you don’t follow me on social media. But as a public servant, you work for me. You’ve proclaimed yourself a feminist and a champion of women’s rights. Right now, you have an opportunity to fight for women and survivors. Use your access to demand that Professor Ford’s request for a full, fair, trauma-informed investigation by the FBI be held. Use your access to make sure another abuser is not seated on the Supreme Court. #DearIvanka”

Schumer, in typical fashion, didn’t mince words. “Hey @ivankatrump Were you so excited to wear that pill box hat this week? #fun You will be remembered like Eva Braun unless you do something,” she wrote. “It’s not too late.”

Bush, who says Trump does indeed follow her on Instagram, took a different approach in her post. “I figured after the last one of these calls for you to take action, you’d unfollow me. But you’re still following me!! So, let me use this opportunity to call you in,” she said in a caption. “Rather than feeling called out, try to see this as an invitation to merge your words and your actions. Girl. You can do it.

Milano, “Law & Order: SVU” star Mariska Hargitay, Wild author Cheryl Strayed, celebrity stylist Karla Welch and more are also flooding Trump’s feed.

While her father has doubled down on his support of Kavanaugh and called into question why Blasey Ford didn’t report the incident when it happened over 30 years ago, Ivanka Trump has yet to make a public statement on the matter.



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Samantha Bee Regrets Calling Ivanka Trump the C-word Because It Took Attention Away From Family Separations


Full Frontal host Samantha Bee is revisiting the controversy she ignited last May when she called Ivanka Trump a “feckless cunt” over her lack of response to President Donald Trump’s immigration policy, which separated migrant children from their parents.

In a new interview with The Daily Beast, Bee now explains that she has some regrets abut how the moment unfolded—primarily because the comment diverted attention from the subject of those family separations.

“I was very regretful that that moment really took away from what I was trying to say with the segment. And the segment really effectively disappeared, you can’t find it anymore. That’s really a shame, because the subject matter was really important to me,” she said, adding later, “I felt like it did a disservice to the [separated] families. Not that we would expect to have a huge impact on them, but I felt that anything that took away from that story, which is so critical and an ongoing story that continues on to this moment, I felt terrible.”

In the segment, Bee noted Trump’s silence around the border crisis, showing an Instagram photo the First Daughter posted with her son—something many people criticized as being tone-deaf. (Trump often touts her commitment to women and children as part of her role in White House.) Bee then looked into the camera and addressed Trump directly: “Let me just say, one mother to another, do something about your dad’s immigration practices, you feckless cunt. He listens to you!”

The use of the C-word drew intense backlash, with some insisting that Bee had gone too far. But Bee also sparked a discussion about the implications of the word and the complicity of Trump, who serves as an advisor in the President’s administration. Later, Donald Trump even got involved, shooting off a tweet in which he wondered why Bee hadn’t lost her job. “Why aren’t they firing no talent Samantha Bee for the horrible language used on her low ratings show? A total double standard but that’s O.K., we are Winning, and will be doing so for a long time to come!” he wrote.

Bee, who eventually issued an apology to Ivanka Trump, described the entire experience as “unpleasant,” particularly the moment in which she was singled out by the President. “It definitely unleashes a different kind of beast into your life when the President specifically tweets about you, so that was a bit new. As a person, it’s helpful for me to keep the show small in my brain,” she said.

Still, Bee is moving past it. She’s taking a break as she prepares for a new season of her show, which is going to get an updated look with a new set. “I think we’re ready to take up more space in the world and so why not have a set that reflects that,” she said.





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Donald Trump's History of Calling Women 'Dogs' Just Got Longer With New Omarosa Tweet


On Tuesday, Donald Trump went on Twitter to blast his former White House aide Omarosa Manigault Newman, calling her a “lowlife” and a “dog.” Manigault Newman—currently promoting a tell-all, Unhinged, about her time working for the president—has said in recent days that she plans to cooperate with special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian collusion and also has released recordings of Trump’s chief of staff John Kelly firing her in the White House Situation Room.

“When you give a crazed, crying lowlife a break, and give her a job at the White House, I guess it just didn’t work out,” Donald Trump tweeted. “Good work by General Kelly for quickly firing that dog!”

Shocking, certainly, but even more so: This isn’t the first time Donald Trump has referred to women as animals. Throughout his career, he’s hurled the “dog” insults at people he doesn’t agree with, and while his list includes a few men (Steve Bannon and Mitt Romney), it’s also stacked with women including journalist and entrepreneur Arianna Huffington (“…she is a dog who wrongfully comments on me”) and actress Kristen Stewart (“Robert Pattinson should not take back Kristen Stewart. She cheated on him like a dog & will do it again–just watch.”) Writer Gail Collins also once claimed that Trump wrote “The Face of a Dog!” over her picture after seeing a column he thought unflattering.

Trump has also repeatedly called women pigs and commented on their looks. During the first Republican debate, moderator Megyn Kelly commented, “You’ve called women you don’t like fat pigs, dogs, slobs and disgusting animals. Your Twitter account …” Trump interrupted to say, to laughter, “Only Rosie O’Donnell.” (He’d said O’Donnell was a “big, fat pig,” a “disgusting pig” and a “real loser” after a disagreement they had in 2006). The women whose physical appearances he’s judged ranges from his former political rival Carly Fiorina and Morning Joe host Mika Brzezinski to celebrities like Heidi Klum and Angelina Jolie. And let’s not forget the time he was caught on a 2005 hot mic saying he could grab women “by the pussy.”

Trump’s disrespectful cracks and hostility against women may be nothing new, but many critics quickly pointed out that calling Newman a dog could also read as racially charged. The insult comes after Trump has attacked other women of color, including Maxine Waters, whom he has referred to as having a low IQ. It also seemed to add fuel to Newman’s allegations that she’s heard tape of the president using the N-word while he was on his former reality show ,The Apprentice, on which Newman competed in 2004.

Trump denied the allegations in a series of tweets on Monday, writing, “.@MarkBurnettTV called to say that there are NO TAPES of the Apprentice where I used such a terrible and disgusting word as attributed by Wacky and Deranged Omarosa. I don’t have that word in my vocabulary and never have. She made it up. Look at her MANY recent quotes saying….such wonderful and powerful things about me – a true Champion of Civil Rights – until she got fired. Omarosa had Zero credibility with the Media (they didn’t want interviews) when she worked in the White House. Now that she says bad about me, they will talk to her. Fake News!”





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Female Music Executives Are Calling for Neil Portnow's Resignation


More than a dozen female music executives have issued an open letter calling for the resignation of Neil Portnow as the Recording Academy president and CEO. They say that the comment Portnow made on Sunday about women needing to “step up” to get more recognition at the Grammys was “wrong and insulting and, at its core, oblivious to the vast body of work created by and with women.”

“Your most recent remarks do not constitute recognition of women’s achievements, but rather a call for men to take action to ‘welcome’ women,” the women wrote. “We do not await your welcome into the fraternity. We do not have to sing louder, jump higher or be nicer to prove ourselves.”

The letter was signed by industry veterans and leaders, such as music attorney Rosemary Carroll, Warner/Chappell publishing vice president Katie Vinten, Pharrell Williams’ manager Caron Veazey and John Legend’s manager Ty Stiklorius. Label executives were, surprisingly, missing from the effort.

Portnow tried backpedaling from his initial comments earlier this week, after facing a wave of backlash from artists like Pink and Charli XCX. He released a statement that didn’t explicitly apologize for what he said, but acknowledged that he’d used clumsy language to address the gender gap.

“Regrettably, I used two words, “step up,” that, when taken out of context, do not convey my beliefs and the point I was trying to make,” he said.

He also announced yesterday that the Recording Academy would put together an independent task force, designed to review biases and barriers that keep women from advancing in the industry. The initiative seemed to be an attempt to show that Portnow was truly committed to understanding and affecting change in music.

But his efforts may be too late—and not nearly enough to address a widespread problem that many women say he’s only made worse.

In their statement, the female executives outline several statistics from a recent study that the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism conducted to examine gender disparities in the music industry. Some of the most salient points include the fact that last year, 83.2 percent pop artists were male, while 16 percent were women. Additionally, only nine percent of the 899 artists nominated for Grammys over the last six years have been female.

“Your comments are another slap in the face to women, whether intended or not; whether taken out of context, or not,” the letter reads. “Needless to say, if you are not part of the solution, then you must accept that YOU are part of the problem. Time’s up, Neil.”



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Kesha's Performed 'Praying' at the 2018 Grammys, and People Are Calling It the Best of All Time


Kesha‘s “Praying” brought the world to its knees on Sunday night. After the Rainbow singer took the Grammys stage to perform her power ballad, which was nominated for “Best Pop Solo Performance” (and lost to Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You,” to the disappointment of many) at the ceremony, there wasn’t a dry eye to be found in either the TV audience or among the viewers at home.

The performance was made even more special since it marked Kesha’s first performance outside of her tour since she took a brief break from music in 2014. Camila Cabello, Cyndi Lauper, Julia Michaels, Bebe Rexha, and Andra Day, all dressed in head-to-toe white, joined Kesha, who wore a white suit embroidered with rainbow-colored flowers, on stage for the song. Along with a team of talented backup singers, also clad in white getups, the group belted out the emotional ballad together before gathering together around Kesha in a tearful group hug.

The tear-jerking performance was clearly linked to the #MeToo and Time’s Up movements. “Praying” is believed to be about Kesha’s as a survivor of abuse at the hands of producer Dr. Luke (né Lukasz Gottwald), who allegedly emotionally, sexually, and physically abused the singer in 2014. Though a judge dismissed most of Kesha’s complaints in an April 2016 trial, leaving her contractually obligated to remain under Dr. Luke’s Kemosabe label, she still created 2017’s Rainbow on her own terms and with the inclusion of songs like “Praying,” a triumphant ballad in which she encourages her tormentor to seek redemption.

Fans shared their love for Kesha on Twitter. “MS KESHA DID WHAT SHE HAD TO DO,” one wrote. “KESHA IS SO PRECIOUS SHE FOUGHT TO GET HERE I CANT AKDLDOSP #GRAMMYS,” another added.

The “Praying” performance wasn’t Sunday night’s only tribute to Time’s Up. Ahead of the 2018 Grammys, dozens of artists pledged to wear white roses to the ceremony in support of the movement against sexual abuse and misconduct in the entertainment industry and beyond. “We choose the white rose because historically it stands for hope, peace, sympathy and resistance,” the newly formed Voices in Entertainment organization wrote in an open letter. Kesha joined fellow musicians Kelly Clarkson, Halsey, Rita Ora, and many others in wearing white roses on Sunday’s red carpet.





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New Video from Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Outing Shows Her Calling Him a Feminist


Yesterday, my favorite couple that I don’t actually know IRL—Meghan Markle and Prince Harry—stepped out in Wales to visit Cardiff Castle and partake in various activities, some involving adorable children. While I loved the outfit, the obvious affection between the two, and, yes, that perfectly messy bun there is one Twitter video that stood out among the rest.

Markle is graciously greeting the crowds and squeezed in between thank yous and a brief discussion about the weather, you can hear her respond to a comment with, “Well, he’s a feminist too…so there’s that.” And while she doesn’t say Harry’s name specifically, I think we can safely assume that the prince is the “he” in question. The reporter, Jack Royston, who initially posted the video tweeted that Markle was speaking to Jessica Phillips who had remarked that she loved having a feminist in the royal family. Cheers to that, indeed!

It should come as no surprise that Markle identifies as a feminist, but it’s still really fantastic every time a woman in the public eye embraces feminism as there are sadly still so many stigmas attached to the word. But this is a woman who was out here battling sexism as an 11-year-old. And now we know that Prince Harry is one too—a statement made in such a casual way as if to say “well, of course he is!” Now, Kate and William could absolutely be feminists too. We just haven’t heard anything about it, and that’s fine too. But what a fantastic breath of fresh air Meghan Markle breathes into a institution like the monarchy that can be seen as stiff, to say the least. I hope young girls see this clip and recognize that feminist partners, even if they’re not princes, are something to seek out.

Here’s to more public and unabashed feminism around the world in 2018





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