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Female MPs Support Meghan Markle’s Fight Against Tabloids

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2 years ago

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  • More than 70 female MPs signed a letter headed by Holly Lynch in support of Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, calling tabloid reports against her “outdated” with “colonial undertones.”
  • Markle thanked Lynch for the letter, which comes after she and Prince Harry filed lawsuits against groups of the British press for bullying and invasions of privacy.
  • The Duke of Sussex’s lawsuit accuses outlets of hacking while Markle’s lawsuit says The Daily Mail unlawfully published a private letter she wrote to her father, which she claims is part of their larger effort to regularly post negative coverage of her.

MPs Pen Letter Supporting Meghan Markle

Members of Parliament have signed a letter in support of Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, after she filed lawsuits against British media alleging bullying and invasions of privacy.

The letter, published Tuesday, was written by Holly Lynch, a member of the House of Commons, and was signed by 71 other female MPs.

“As women MPs of all political persuasions, we wanted to express solidarity with you in taking a stand against the often distasteful and misleading nature of the stories printed in a number of our national newspapers concerning you, your character, and your family,” the letter reads.

The women said they wanted to call out “what can only be described as outdated, colonial undertones” on the press’ coverage of Markle. 

“With this in mind we expect the national media to have the integrity to know when a story is in the national interest, and when it is seeking to tear a woman down for no apparent reason,” the letter continued. “You have our assurances that we stand with you in solidarity on this. We will use the means at our disposal to ensure that our press accept your right to privacy and show respect, and that their stories reflect the truth.”

Lynch further commented on her motivations for writing this letter to ITV on Wednesday. She called reports on Markle xenophobic and added that this is “unacceptable this day in age.” 

“She’s here, she’s married our prince, they’ve got a young son, we really want to welcome her to our society and I’m afraid not all of the articles in our national press really reflect that and it’s time that that stops,” Lynch said.  

She also said that Markle had called her and thanked her for her support. 

Meghan and Harry File Lawsuits

At the beginning of October, both Markle and her husband, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, filed lawsuits against groups in British media. The Duke of Sussex’s suit alleges that The Sun and The Daily Mirror have engaged in phone hacking. Markle’s claims that Associated Newspapers, which owns The Daily Mail unlawfully published a private letter in part of their larger effort to report negative things about her. 

The Duke of Sussex wrote a statement about this suit, describing these attacks from the press as painful. 

“There is a human cost to this relentless propaganda, specifically when it is knowingly false and malicious, and though we have continued to put on a brave face – as so many of you can relate to – I cannot begin to describe how painful it has been,” he wrote. 

“There comes a point when the only thing to do is to stand up to this behaviour, because it destroys people and destroys lives,” he continued. “Put simply, it is bullying, which scares and silences people. We all know this isn’t acceptable, at any level.“

He then compared his wife’s relationship with the press to that of his mother, Princess Diana. She died in a car crash in 1997 attempting to flee from paparazzi. 

“I’ve seen what happens when someone I love is commoditised to the point that they are no longer treated or seen as a real person,” he wrote. “I lost my mother and now I watch my wife falling victim to the same powerful forces.”

British Tabloids’ Coverage on Meghan Markle

Markle has been the subject of incessant and often negative press since her relationship with the Duke of Sussex went public in 2016. The Daily Mail faced criticism for publishing racist headlines about her, including one that said she was “almost straight outta Compton” and another that said her family went “from cotton slaves to royalty.”

Once she married into Britain’s Royal Family, coverage around her grew. Markle has been criticized for her presence supporting her friend Serena Williams at Wimbledon, sending “demanding” e-mails to her staff in the morning, and for not being as good at social media as Queen Victoria, who died in 1901, would have been. 

Recently, she and the Duke of Sussex were criticized for taking a private jet. When Markle later flew commercial, however, she made more headlines for arriving an hour late. She also saw a recent wave of attacks after guest-editing British Vogue. Reports from The Daily Mail and The Sun were eager to condemn the issue, though others pointed out that Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge, once guest-edited The Huffington Post to much less backlash. 

The press has been particularly unrelenting when it came to Markle’s pregnancy and now role as a new mother. Tabloids thoroughly covered the cost of her baby shower, one article criticized way she holds her son Archie, and another column accused her of suffering from “American Wife Syndrome.”

Markle’s family has also been the subject of constant headlines. There is no shortage of reports on her father, whom she no longer speaks to, as well as other reports tying Markle to members of her family after incidents having nothing to do with her. 

The impacts of this coverage became a major point of public conversation after a clip from an ITV documentary went viral. A reporter asked her about how these new pressures have impacted her mental health. She said that during pregnancy and now as a new mother, she has been in a vulnerable state.

“So you add this on top of just trying to be a new mum or trying to be a newlywed. It’s um… yeah. I guess, also thank you for asking, because not many people have asked if I’m okay, but it’s a very real thing to be going through behind the scenes,” she said.

 “And the answer is — would it be fair to say ‘Not really OK’?” the reporter followed up. “It’s really been a struggle?”

“Yes,” she responded. 

See what others are saying: (NBC News) (BBC) (Town and Country)

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Disney Eviscerates Scarlett Johansson’s “Black Widow” Lawsuit as “Callous,” but Report Suggests Emma Stone and Emily Blunt May Follow Her Lead

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17 hours ago

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July 30, 2021

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“There is no merit whatsoever to this filing,” the company said in an uncharacteristically blunt statement that was heavily criticized online. 

Johansson/Disney Lawsuit Gets Bitter

Disney has described a recent lawsuit from “Black Widow” actress Scarlett Johansson as “sad and distressing in its callous disregard for the horrific and prolonged global effects of the COVID-19 pandemic,” but Johansson may have just unleashed what is to become an even bigger legal challenge for the House of Mouse. 

At the center of this dispute, Johansson alleges she lost $50 million because Disney opted for a dual streaming/theater release of “Black Widow,” which debuted in theaters and for $30 on Disney+ with Premier Access earlier this month. 

According to Johansson’s suit, her contract with Disney — which was negotiated prior to any hint of a pandemic — stipulated that “Black Widow” would see an exclusive theater release. Notably, the actress also said her contractual bonuses were tied to the movie’s box office performance, which is an extremely common practice with films featuring A-list celebrities.

Of course, when the pandemic hit — like many other industries — movies were upended. Pandemic-related changes meant that despite having an initial release date of May 2020, Marvel fans wouldn’t get a chance to see “Black Widow” for over a year. 

Still, Johansson said she tried to contact Disney to renegotiate her contract prior to the film’s ultimate release, but she claims the company was unresponsive. 

On Thursday, she then filed a complaint with the Los Angeles County Superior Court, with her attorney arguing that “Disney has enjoyed the benefits of having one of Hollywood’s top actresses promote its wholly owned subscription service at no additional cost to Disney, and with the intended effect of taking money out of that actress’ own pocket.”

Later Thursday, Disney claimed that it has “fully complied” with Johansson’s contract and that the streamed release of the film “has significantly enhanced her ability to earn additional compensation on top of the $20M she has received to date.”

“There is no merit whatsoever to this filing,” the company said in its uncharacteristically blunt statement.

Are Emma Stone and Emily Blunt Next?

Speaking of blunt, it was reported Friday that both Emily Blunt and Emma Stone may also file lawsuits against Disney’s dual streaming release of their films. 

In fact, according to an exclusive newsletter run by former Hollywood Reporter Editor Matt Belloni, Stone “is said to be weighing her options” over the dual release of “Cruella” in May. Meanwhile, he suggested Blunt could also take action or speak out following this weekend’s release of “Jungle Cruise.”

Belloni went on to describe Disney as “notoriously difficult to deal with” regarding such matters and claimed that many have simply been waiting for someone powerful enough to speak out. 

Disney Criticized for Its Response

Much of the public perception of the situation has led to overwhelming support for Johansson’s camp. Online, a slew of people lambasted Disney’s response, with many calling it a deflection. 

See what others are saying: (ScreenRant) (Newsweek) (Variety)

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Candace Owens and Logan Paul in Talks to Debate

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2 days ago

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July 29, 2021

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A spokesperson confirmed to Insider Wednesday that the two have had “productive” conversations about the prospect offline.

Candace Owens Challenges Logan Paul to a Debate

Right-wing commentator Candace Owens and controversial YouTuber Logan Paul are in talks to engage in a political debate. Yes, you read that sentence correctly. 

Owens — best known for making false claims about the George Floyd protests, spreading COVID-19 misinformation, and seemingly saying that Adolf Hitler “just wanted to make Germany great” — first challenged Paul to a debate on Friday. It started with her sharing a year-old clip from Paul’s podcast where he spoke about the importance of fighting racism in the United States. 

“It is not enough to be ‘not racist.’ You have to be anti-racist,” he said.

“If you’re white, if you look like me, use your privilege,” he added. “And for those who do not think white privilege exists, you are fucking blind.” 

Because merely acknowledging the existence of racism appears to go against Owens’ core beliefs, she asked Paul to duke it out with her. 

“Logan loves to challenge people in the boxing ring,” she wrote. “I’d like to publicly challenge him to go a few rounds with me in a political debate. @LoganPaul—how about you stop by my show and explain to me how you’re *checks notes* more privileged than me because you’re white and I’m not?”

Spokesperson Confirms The Two Are in Talks

Paul  — best known for launching a boxing career and filming a YouTube video that showed a dead body in Japan’s “suicide forest” — said on Tuesday that he was “perplexed” by the offer, but was taking it seriously. 

“I started to entertain this action, I ended up speaking with her, and there may be a future where we sit down and have a civil discourse because I think there’s some meat on this bone,” he said during the most recent episode of his “ImPaulsive” podcast. 

The internet star acknowledged that Owens’ main arena is politics, while his main arena is being a “fucking idiot” online. Still, he said he does care about these issues and has a “semi-intelligent brain,” so he thinks he could “hold [his] own.”

“Candace Owens, whether you can admit it or not, is a smart person,” Paul continued. “And so I guess I’m just curious because I just fucking fundamentally disagree with her and again, I think there’s room for a conversation.” 

A spokesperson for Owens confirmed to Insider on Wednesday that the two had a “productive” offline conversation and said a public political debate between the two is “very likely.”

“Although both of them disagree on a variety of topics, they are both much more interested in learning from one another and think people would benefit from hearing an honest discussion between two parties rather than a ‘gotcha’ moment that might play well for social media,” the spokesperson added.

See what others are saying: (Insider)

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Finneas Slams Billie Eilish Troll Account for Attributing Fake Quotes to the Singer

Published

3 days ago

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July 28, 2021

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Eilish’s big brother said the account is spreading “relentless lies” and asked that it at least label itself as a satire account.

Troll Account Shares Fake Billie Eilish Quotes

Billie Eilish’s brother and collaborator Finneas took to Twitter Tuesday to address an account that has been sharing fake quotes attributed to his sister.

The account uses the handle @BilliesUpdatess and goes by the name of “Billie Eilish Updates” in its profile. It was created in July of 2021 and as of Wednesday morning, it had amassed a following of 1,100 people. On a quick glance, it looks just like any other update account a fan might make to share news about their favorite celebrity.

@BilliesUpdatess, however, is far from the standard adoring fan page. Of the over 300 tweets it has posted, several include screenshots of forged articles that make it look like Eilish said something either offensive or totally outlandish. One post claims Eilish defended her boyfriend after he was accused of supporting former president Donald Trump.

“At the end of the day, I fucking love him you know?” the phony statement reads. “It doesn’t matter if he made some homophobic comments in the past, people change. If he [Matthew] supports Donald Trump then I don’t care if it makes him happy. I support EVERY decision Mathew has to make, even the ones some of my fans don’t agree with, like maybe some of his icky comments.”

Screenshot @BilliesUpdatess

In another sham passage, Eilish says she thinks queerbaiting “is a really good thing!” In several others, the person behind the account comes up with artificial quotes to make it looks like Eilish is feuding with “driver’s license” singer Olivia Rodrigo. 

Screenshot @BilliesUpdatess

One post with a fake article ended up being retweeted 12,000 times. That tweet included Eilish claiming she longs to be poor.

Screenshot @BilliesUpdatess

“When I got rich, I started balling my eyes out,” the fake piece says. “I wanted to be poor so I can relate to most of my fans. I still want to be broke and poor, it looks really fun and cute.”

Finneas Slams Account

As the troll account started to gain traction, Finneas asked that people report and block it to minimize the spread of its “relentless lies.”

On Tuesday, he responded to a fan that tagged him in the @BilliesUpdatess tweet alleging his sister wanted to be poor. 

“Fake obviously,” Finneas wrote. “Honestly I just wish they’d label this account satire like the onion or something. I have no problem with a joke as long as people know it’s a joke.”

Screenshot @BilliesUpdatess

The account made several jokes about the fact that Finneas was calling it out, but it seems Eilish’s big brother got what he asked for. @BilliesUpdatess added “parody account” to its bio and the account was deleted as of Wednesday afternoon.

See what others are saying: (NME) (Uproxx) (E! News)

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