Tag: entertainment
Trump Announces Three Aging 'Ambassadors To Hollywood'

Trump Announces Three Aging 'Ambassadors To Hollywood'

Donald Trump has announced about 100 nominations to his administration that require Senate confirmation, from cabinet secretaries to ambassadors to foreign countries, but on Thursday the President-elect announced the “nomination” of three more “ambassadors” — to Hollywood.

“It is my honor to announce Jon Voight, Mel Gibson, and Sylvester Stallone, to be Special Ambassadors to a great but very troubled place, Hollywood, California,” Trump declared on social media. “They will serve as Special Envoys to me for the purpose of bringing Hollywood, which has lost much business over the last four years to Foreign Countries, BACK—BIGGER, BETTER, AND STRONGER THAN EVER BEFORE! These three very talented people will be my eyes and ears, and I will get done what they suggest. It will again be, like The United States of America itself, The Golden Age of Hollywood!”

Calling it a “seemingly unprecedented role,” Politico reports, “Voight, Gibson and Stallone have been vocal supporters of Trump in recent years.”

The three will not require Senate confirmation, as there is no official role of Ambassador to Hollywood.

“Trump has long had deep ties within the entertainment industry. His pick for envoy to the United Kingdom is his old producer from ‘The Apprentice,’ Mark Burnett.”

The Chicago Tribune noted that “Trump’s decision to select the actors as his chosen ‘ambassadors’ underscores his preoccupations with the 80s and 90s, when he was a rising tabloid star in New York, and Gibson and Stallone were among the biggest movie stars in the world.”

“Stallone is a frequent guest at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club and introduced him at a gala in November shortly after the election,” the Tribune reported. But the paper noted, the “decision also reflects Trump’s willingness to overlook his supporters’ most controversial statements.”

“Gibson’s reputation has been altered in Hollywood since 2006, he went on an antisemitic rant while being arrested for allegedly driving under the influence. But he’s also continued to work in mainstream movies and directed the upcoming Wahlberg thriller ‘Flight Risk.'”

“Voight is a longtime Trump supporter who has called Trump the greatest president since Lincoln,” the Tribune added.

But while some mocked the very idea of “ambassadors” to Hollywood, some political observers see a different motivations.

“If you’re to believe Trump, a task force comprised of three men with an average age of 77 is precisely what Hollywood needs to reclaim its glory days,” reported Vanity Fair‘s Chris Murphy.

“There is no reason to think that Trump genuinely wants to help the U.S. film industry, which has rejected and mocked him since he entered politics,” writes New York Magazine “Intelligencer” senior editor Margaret Hartmann, who described the appointments as “trolling Hollywood.”

She also notes that “there’s the underlying idea that Trump needs to appoint ambassadors to Hollywood, like it’s not part of the United States. He underscores this by calling it a ‘great but very troubled place.’ Referring to Hollywood as a location, not just an industry, and describing it as ‘troubled’ make it impossible not to think of the wildfires.”

Hartmann also says, “it’s not clear what it means to be Trump’s ‘eyes and ears’ in the film industry, unless he’s trying to conjure fears about another Red Scare.”

Others have made suggestions about American culture.

“It means that just like in the Third Reich with the Nazis, MAGA is hyperfocused on gaining control of culture. You can’t control people unless you control culture. Like I said, Hollywood is about to FO [find out],” declared political analyst Rachel Bitecofer.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported, “while some have welcomed the picks,” of Stallone, Voight, and Gibson, “others, such as departing President Joe Biden have warned of an emerging ‘oligarchy’ in the US.”

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

Furious Over Trump's Racist Rally, Latino Superstars Vow Payback On Election Day

Furious Over Trump's Racist Rally, Latino Superstars Vow Payback On Election Day

Popular, famous, and highly-influential Latino stars, and superstars including Bad Bunny, Luis Fonsi, Jennifer Lopez, and Ricky Martin, are lashing out at Donald Trump after his six-hour Madison Square Garden rally on Sunday served up racist, misogynistic, and antisemitic rhetoric. A New York Times headline described it as "Trump's racist rally."

The most-noted racist remarks came from a comedian, Tony Hinchcliffe, in an attack calling Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean,” and saying, "these Latinos, they love making babies, too, just know that. They do, they do. There’s no pulling out. They don’t do that. They come inside, just like they did to our country,” before talking about Black people carving watermelons.

The Trump campaign waited several hours before issuing a statement saying, “This joke does not reflect the views of President Trump or the campaign.” It was unclear why other racist remarks made throughout the event, including by Hinchcliffe, were not addressed by the campaign.

"Battleground Pennsylvania," NBC News reports, "where polling margins show a razor-thin race between Trump and Harris, is home to the third-largest Puerto Rican diaspora in the country. Last month, the former president invited Puerto Rican artist Anuel AA onstage at a rally in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, to publicly throw his support behind the Republican ticket."

Variety reports, "Bad Bunny, Jennifer Lopez and Ricky Martin were among the notable industry figures who boosted Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris on Sunday after a speaker at Donald Trump‘s political rally at New York’s Madison Square Garden called Puerto Rico 'a floating island of garbage.'"

"Bad Bunny, one of the world’s biggest music superstar[s] with more than 45 million Instagram followers, boosted Harris’ campaign video targeting voters in Puerto Rico and noting what a contentious relationship that Trump had with the island during his tenure in the White House. Lopez posted Harris campaign material targeted at Puerto Rico as well as the same video pitch that Bad Bunny boosted."

"Singer-actor Ricky Martin, with 18.6 million Instagram followers, did the same thing on his Instagram Stories feed, adding the comment 'I remember' on the Harris video. He also included a clip of Hinchcliffe’s 'garbage' comment."

Variety continued, reporting, "Luis Fonsi, the Puerto Rican singer who had a worldwide smash in 2017 with 'Despacito,' also reposted the Harris video and added a comment."

“We are not OK with this constant hate. It’s been abundantly clear that these people have no respect for us and yet they want our vote,” Fonsi wrote. “I purposely wrote this in English cause yes we’re American too.”

Political strategist, CNN commentator, and co-host of ABC's The View, Ana Navarro has two million followers on the social media platform X and is a highly-influential Republican.

"Today, @KamalaHarris released policy proposals to help Puerto Rico. On the other hand at the Trump rally, this is going on," she wrote, pointing to a clip of Hinchcliffe calling Puerto Rico a "floating island of garbage."

"But nah. They’re not piece of s--- racists who treat Puerto Ricans as second-class US citizens. It’s just our imagination. Puerto Ricans, pay attention!"

She also noted posted a screenshot of Bad Bunny's post, in which he shared Vice President Harris's proposal for Puerto Rico with his 45 million followers.

And, pointing to Hinchcliffe's racist remarks about Latinos making babies, Navarro wrote:

"Latinos, defend our community’s dignity.

Show some self-respect.

A vote against racism is a vote for @KamalaHarris."

Monday morning on The View, co-host Sunny Hostin, who is Puerto Rican, served up a monologue strongly criticizing Donald Trump.

"This Puerto Rican has something to say about the island that I love, where my family is from," Hostin began. "Puerto Rico is 'trash'? We are Americans, Donald Trump. Americans. We voluntarily serve disproportionately high in the military, while you have bone spurs."

"And we vote."

"Pennsylvania is home to almost half a million Puerto Ricans. North Carolina, 115,000. Georgia, 100,000. Arizona, 64,000. Wisconsin, 61,000. Michigan, 43,000. Nevada, 27,000. We vote Donald Trump."

"Trash?"

"And by the way, Jennifer Lopez, Ricky Martin, Bad Bunny, Luis Fonsi, and Mark Anthony have over 345 million followers on Instagram. I think you only have 26 million, since you care so much about size. And we don't like what was said about Puerto Rico. And we know how to take the trash out Donald Trump. Trash that has been collecting since 2016. And that's you, Donald Trump. And finally, my fellow Puerto Ricans, trash collection day is November 5th, 2024. Don't forget it."

Former Fox News political commentator Geraldo Rivera let loose Sunday night:

"'A floating island of garbage…?' Referring to Puerto Rico??? 'Poisoning the blood of our nation…?' We have 'murder in our genes….?' Fuck these racists. Latino men of good will, have pride in yourselves and your ancestors. A vote for Trump is a vote against self-respect."

Monday morning he added: "Latino men, for the love of your parents and children, for your pride and your honor tell this little gringo s--- to go f--- himself."

See the video and social media posts above or at this link.

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

Beyonce Will Campaign With Kamala In Hometown Houston

Beyonce Will Campaign With Kamala In Hometown Houston

Ring the alarm! Queen Bey is hitting the campaign trail—to help get voters in formation for Vice President Kamala Harris.

Pop megastar Beyoncé will perform at a campaign rally for the Democratic presidential nominee in Houston on Friday, MSNBC reported. While this will be Beyoncé’s first rally with Harris, she authorized the use of her song “Freedom” back in July for the campaign to use in ads and at rallies.

The wildly popular singer and Houston native is one of a number of A-list stars hitting the trail for Harris in the final days of the election, along with Bruce Springsteen, Eminem, Usher, and Lizzo.

The Harris-Walz campaign said it is using carefully chosen celebrities to help get out the vote in specific states.

“We’re not throwing spaghetti against the wall. We have literally studied who these voters listen to,” a campaign official told CNN.

Beyoncé is one of the most well-known celebrities in the United States, with a Harris poll from April finding that 6 out of 10 Americans consider themselves fans.

Country singer-songwriter and Texas native Willie Nelson will also be at the rally. The Red Headed Stranger first endorsed Harris in September when he appeared in a campaign video with her husband, second gentleman Doug Emhoff.

Polls show Texas may be a reach for Harris to win. But voters could very well oust Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, who is neck and neck with Democratic Rep. Colin Allred in the race for a crucial Senate seat.

Friday’s rally will focus on reproductive rights, according to the Harris campaign. Texas has one of the strictest abortion laws in the country, with the procedure banned in nearly all cases.

The state’s draconian law was made possible by the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, which in effect eliminated the constitutional right to an abortion. Trump has bragged about being responsible for that decision, as he appointed three of the six conservative justices on the court who voted to overturn it.

A new Harris campaign ad features a Texas woman who almost died as a result of being denied abortion care in the state.

“[Trump] did this to me,” the woman, named Ondrea, says in the ad. “It almost cost me my life and it will affect me for the rest of my life.”

While Harris’ vocal support for women’s rights has earned strong endorsements from megacelebrities like Beyoncé and Taylor Swift, fascist wannabe Trump is backed by washed-up has-beens like Kid Rock and Hulk Hogan.

Reprinted with permission from Daily Kos.

Directors of 'The Apprentice' Delighted As Trump Erupts In Fury

Directors of 'The Apprentice' Delighted As Trump Erupts In Fury

Former President Donald Trump railed against the new movie The Apprentice in a caps-locked tirade in a post on Truth Social, calling it “a politically disgusting hatchet job” that’s trying to hurt “the Greatest Political Movement in the History of our Country.”

He added, “My former wife, Ivana, was a kind and wonderful person, and I had a great relationship with her until the day she died. The writer of this pile of garbage, Gabe Sherman, a lowlife and talentless hack, who has long been widely discredited, knew that, but chose to ignore it. So sad that HUMAN SCUM, like the people involved in this hopefully unsuccessful enterprise, are allowed to say and do whatever they want in order to hurt a Political Movement, which is far bigger than any of us.”

Let’s just say it doesn’t seem like Trump is a fan.

The film’s director, Ali Abbasi, weighed in, extending a conversational olive branch to the Republican nominee. In a post on X, Abbasi said, “Thanks for getting back to us @realDonaldTrump. I am available to talk further if you want. Today is a tight day w a lot of press for #TheApprentice but i might be able to give you a call tomorrow.”

Then the film’s official account responded on X on Monday, “We couldn’t think of a better endorsement @RealDonaldTrump. #TheApprentice is Now Playing in Theaters nationwide!” Then, they posted a link to the film.

The official trailer, released in September, shows a mid-20s Trump as a protégé of big-time lawyer Roy Cohn in New York City in the early ’70s. The film chronicles his rise from slumlord to real estate mogul and his relationship with ex-wife, the late Ivana Trump.

Throughout the trailer, Trump takes pointers, learning “the rules” from his right-wing mentor—and Joseph McCarthy lapdog—as Cohn instructs Trump to “Attack, attack, attack.” Other popular Cohn mantras were to “Admit nothing, deny everything,” and to “Claim victory and never admit defeat.” It’s an ominous map to what we now know has become part of Trump’s political playbook.

The film stars Avengers actor Sebastian Stan as Trump, and Succession actor Jeremy Strong as Cohn.

Due to Trump’s litigious history, including a direct threat of a cease and desist letter, Hollywood studios veered away from making the movie. According to Salon, the producers could not get a distribution deal despite playing to rave reviews at the Cannes Film Festival this year. Briarcliff Entertainment and Open Road Films CEO Tom Ortenberg, who worked on the award-winning journalistic film Spotlight, stepped in and made sure the film would see the light of day.

Now, Trump has raised another potential legal battle for The Apprentice: “Do they even have the right to use that name without approval?” he wrote. Is Trump suggesting he may pursue the film for copyright infringement?

The movie was released on October 11. They say you are the company you keep, and this film shows quite the relationship between Trump and Cohn, who has often been described as “evil.” With only three weeks left until Election Day, here’s hoping the movie makes it even more clear who America should vote to put back into the White House.

Reprinted with permission from Daily Kos.

Shop our Store

Headlines

Editor's Blog

Corona Virus

Trending

World