Lifestyle
Sam Smith’s NSFW Music Video Spurs Debate Over Age Restrictions
Sam Smith‘s new music video is stirring the pot for its NSFW content material — nevertheless it’s additionally sparking debate on an fascinating query … is sexuality only a straight particular person’s sport???
The nonbinary singer dropped the visible remedy for his or her newest single “I am Not Right here To Make Mates,” which is featured on their recently-released album, “Gloria.” Secure to say, ‘INHTMF’ is in your face with regards to exhibiting off pores and skin and sexually suggestive scenes.
Sam is depicted in a number of eye-popping outfits, together with one the place their chest is on show with nipple pasties in place. There are additionally moments the place SS is being sprayed within the face with water … which kinda appears to be like some one thing typically finest left behind closed doorways.
After all, the backup dancers and extras are flaunting their stuff in scantily-clad getups all all through … so, objectively, it checks the field for a historically provocative challenge.
YouTube doesn’t have any age restrictions on Sam Smiths degrading sexualised new music video.
5 12 months olds can search this up and watch it with no content material restrictions!
Sam Smith, this isn’t artwork. This isn’t stylish. This isn’t empowering. That is monstrous! #SamSmith pic.twitter.com/NoDec6rtEE
— Oli London (@OliLondonTV) January 28, 2023
@OliLondonTV
Now, the controversy … Sam has been trending all weekend over this video, largely invoking outrage from folks on the precise — who really feel prefer it’s wildly inappropriate … particularly because it pertains to age restrictions and youngsters who may stumble throughout it on YouTube.
The argument from that finish is that ‘I am Not Right here’ is only a hyper-sexualized demonstration of perversion for the hell of it, masked as physique positivity and LGBTQ+ empowerment.
Sam Smith is an ideal instance of what degenerate Hollywood tradition does to folks.
It makes celebrities vulgar, hyper-sexualised and obsessive about sporting their sexuality like a dressing up and shoving it in everybody’s face. And to make issues worse, youngsters look as much as this man! pic.twitter.com/0xpUryCl3a
— Dominique Samuels (@Dominiquetaegon) January 28, 2023
@Dominiquetaegon
After all, not everybody sees it that manner. In truth, the rebuttal coming from the opposite facet is … the place’s all of the outrage once we see cisgender heterosexual women and men doing the identical factor (if not worse) in music movies of the previous??? It is a honest query to pose.
One particular person broke down this obvious double customary fairly properly on TikTok — influencer, Max Hovey got here to Sam’s protection and stated the backlash is misguided and misplaced.
Mainly, the concept somebody who does not match society’s typical magnificence requirements cannot overtly specific their sexuality on digital camera with out flack — whereas others are allowed to get away with it unscathed — is screwed up, in response to Max and others who agree with him.
FWIW, Sam does not appear too bothered by all of the discourse — they’re persevering with to advertise the hell out of this factor and posting clips and stills from the video with out reservation.
Fascinating convo, and much from over … or so we think about.
Lifestyle
Hold on to your wishes — there's a 'Spider in the Well'
Illustrations © 2024 Jess Hannigan
Once upon a time, in the folkloric town of Bad Göodsburg, which is probably in Germany, there was an overworked newsboy.
Not only did he bring the people their daily news, he also swept their chimneys, shined their shoes, and brought them their milk.
He was overworked, and underappreciated.
So, when the townspeople discover that their wishing well is broken, the newsboy sets off to fix it — and get some revenge. Thus begins this children’s tale of extortion, labor rights, and justice.
Author and illustrator Jess Hannigan spoke about her debut picture book, Spider in the Well, with NPR’s Tamara Keith. Here are excerpts from that conversation, edited in parts for clarity and length.
Illustrations © 2024 Jess Hannigan
Interview highlights
Tamara Keith: How did you come to write a book about a spider, when I understand that you are afraid of spiders?
Jess Hannigan: I am. I don’t care for them. But do I love the webs they spin? Yes. Do I love the spooky aesthetic? Of course. Basically, the whole story came about because I really just had the image of looking down a well with the web, with the spider in it, and I thought that would look cool. And then I kind of asked myself, like, ‘Is there a story here? Why is he in there? What’s he catching in the web?’ And it kind of just wrote itself from there.
Keith: Is everyone in Bad Göodsburg a little bit bad and a little bit good? Or are all people a little bit bad and a little bit good?
Hannigan: Well it’s supposed to be, you know, real life. I really like when a character is in a gray area with some good and some bad because it’s realistic and relatable. And we have heroes and we have “villains,” but they’re just like us. And that way they’re humanized. And you just get to kind of discuss who you side with, who you agree with.
Keith: How would you describe what this book looks like?
Hannigan: I did the whole thing completely digitally. I kind of was going for a sort of imperfect printmaking effect because I love the look of block printing, but I don’t have the patience. So this was kind of a happy medium of me achieving that kind of folkloric, old-timey printing look without any of the labor.
Illustrations © 2024 Jess Hannigan
Keith: Where did you draw your inspiration for the art? The colors are not colors that you traditionally see in a children’s book. It’s like black and hot orange and purple.
Hannigan: A lot of my inspiration for the kind of shapes that I use comes from like, Polish posters. They’re from the 1960s and ’70s — Polish poster design was crazy and they had the wackiest shapes and colors, and I was introduced to those back in college.
These were just the colors that I had been obsessed with at the time that I happened to be making the book. They are like these kind of sickly, weird tones. And I used all those purples and greens for the “bad guys” because I guess it suited their vibe. But I’m actually colorblind, very slightly. So everyone’s been telling me this book is such a lovely shade of orange and I’ve been telling everyone it’s red.
Keith: What lesson do you want the kids who are reading this book — or who are reading it with their parents — what do you want them to take away from it?
Hannigan: I didn’t go into making this story with a lesson in mind. I know books with morals are important and they have a place for sure. But really I just wanted to make people laugh. And to go back and read it again and think, ‘What the heck was this guy even doing? Where did they learn how to do blackmail? Who taught them about extortion and labor rights and things?’
I love stories like that, that just make you wonder more about them.
Illustrations é 2024 Jess Hannigan
Lifestyle
Diddy Posts Apology Video for Cassie Beating
Diddy‘s uttering his first words about the videotaped beating of Cassie … saying he “takes full responsibility for his actions,” and claims he’s already gone to rehab.
He posted a video Sunday morning, looking directly into camera, he said, “It’s so difficult to reflect on the darkest times in your life, but sometimes you gotta do that. I was f***ed up. I mean, I hit rock bottom.”
A 2016 video shows Sean “Diddy” Combs assaulting then-girlfriend Cassie Ventura in an altercation that matches some allegations in now-settled lawsuit https://t.co/fYUQ2z2MYN
— CNN (@CNN) May 17, 2024
@CNN
He says he’s not making any excuses for his behavior — the brutal March 2016 assault on his then-girlfriend Cassie while they were staying at the InterContinental Hotel in Los Angeles. The surveillance video — obtained by CNN — showed Diddy chase her down a hallway, grab her by the back of the neck and hurl her to the ground .. where he kicked her and dragged her.
Diddy claims he “sought out professional help” after the incident. He says, I had to go into therapy. Go into rehab. I had to ask God for his mercy and grace.”
He didn’t offer any detail about how long he was in treatment.
TMZ Studios
He ended the video with an apology, of sorts … “I’m so sorry, but I’m committed to be a better man each and everyday. I’m not asking for forgiveness. I’m truly sorry.”
What’s interesting is he did not directly apologize to Cassie — and, so, it comes off more as an apology to the public than the victim.
Remember, Cassie described the attack in the sexual assault lawsuit she filed in November against Diddy — a lawsuit they settled just one day later.
At the time, Diddy’s attorney emphasized the settlement was in no way an admission of guilt, and Diddy himself would later deny all the allegations made against him in several lawsuits.
Lifestyle
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