Hollywood

Kat Timpf: Celebs, don’t preach – why Madonna, other rich elites shouldn’t lecture us on consumerism

More than 200 celebrities, scientists and Nobel Prize winners have signed an open letter rejecting the idea that things should “go back to normal” after the coronavirus pandemic ends – arguing that we must, instead, stop “the pursuit of consumerism.” Now, to be clear, I’m not attacking them for their success – or even for them enjoying it with lavish lifestyles. What I am saying, however, is that I can’t help but be irked by the unconscionable lack of awareness you’d have to have in order to sign something like this while you’re sitting in an extravagant home surrounded by servants. After all, if any of the super-wealthy people who signed this letter had any real interest in stopping the “pursuit of consumerism,” they would certainly have started with taking a look at their own habits in that area. The letter, which was published in the French publication Le Monde on Wednesday, states, in part: “The pursuit of consumerism and an obsession with productivity have led us to deny the value of life itself: that of plants, that of animals, and that of a great number of human beings. Pollution, climate change, and the destruction of our remaining natural zones has brought the world to a breaking point.” Many of these people – such as Madonna, Robert De Niro, Iggy Pop, Christian Louboutin, Penelope Cruz and Jane Fonda, to name a few – are incredibly rich and famous. Madonna, for example, is actually totally free to sell her multimillion-dollar mansion in Lisbon and give all of the cash to Greenpeace if she wanted to. No one is stopping her – and actually, with a net worth that Forbes estimated at $570 million in 2019, she could probably part with a lot of her assets and still live far more comfortably than the vast, vast majority of us could ever even imagine. I’m not singling out Madonna, either – because there were a lot of people on that list who probably haven’t exactly had to resort to eating boxed macaroni and cheese in a while. Celebrity Net Worth, for example, estimates Jane Fonda’s at about $200 million. Oh, and Robert de Niro? A cool $500 million. Perhaps what’s most insane of all is the fact that Christian Louboutin signed this letter, when it’s public knowledge that the most basic pair of Louboutin heels sell for nearly $700. Louboutin doesn’t hate consumerism – he lives and breathes it. Obsession with material status symbols isn’t just acceptable to him, it’s actually his entire business model. It’s the entire reason why he, the child of a cabinetmaker and stay-at-home mother, was able to launch a business that made him worth an estimated $85 million today. The thing is, I actually think stories like his are amazing; I’m not attacking any of these people for having success or money. Far from it. Madonna is worth hundreds of millions of bucks, but she has also worked very hard and is incredibly talented. (I’m serious. It’s hard to believe that “Like a Prayer” came out more than 30 years ago because it still gets me on my feet any time I hear it.) No, their money doesn’t bother me and neither does their fame. What does bother me, though, is the hypocritical virtue-signaling they all displayed in signing something like this. In fact, it’s hard to see it as anything other than an insult to the intelligence of the rest of us. After all, we’re not stupid, and we know these people aren’t schlepping it. We know that Penelope Cruz, for example, is in fact not sleeping on a bale of hay in an abandoned barn somewhere – and we also know that both capitalism and her devotion to productivity are two major reasons why. If you’re rich and you’re famous, go ahead and live like you are. You’ve earned it! But please at least respect the rest of us enough to not pretend that you’re devoted to minimalist living – after all, if you really were, you would start by trying it yourself.

No kidding!!  Thanks to Katherine “Kat” Timpf for calling out these self-righteous, sanctimonious, arrogant, elitist, and entitlement-minded HollyWEIRD celebs out for their brazen hypocrisy.  It’s truly nauseating.

Dolly Parton secretly produced ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ and fans are stunned: ‘We do not deserve her’

Dolly Parton secretly produced “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and fans are freaking out over the resurfaced revelation. The country icon’s name never appeared in the rolling credits of the hit series starring Sarah Michelle Gellar. However, Sandollar Entertainment, the production company Parton co-founded and owned, was responsible for bringing the show to life on the small screen. Parton created Sandollar Entertainment with her former longtime manager, Sandy Gallin, in 1986. According to IMDB, the company produced “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” for its total seven seasons. In 1992, the production company worked on the original “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” feature film, meaning she had an important role in the show’s genesis. Sandollar Entertainment has also produced a number of major television shows and films, including “Father of the Bride” in 1991, the 1986 flick “Fly Away Home,” and “Angel,” which ran from 1999 to 2004. It’s also been discovered that Gellar’s character Buffy Summers’ birthday is January 19, the same day the country star was born, according to The Independent. Parton fans were left in awe of the discovery, taking to Twitter to express their delight. “I just found out that Dolly Parton was an uncredited–but important–producer on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and I AM SHOOK Y’ALL. We do not deserve Dolly Parton, tbh,” one fan wrote. “First Dolly Parfton writes I Will Always Love You, then I find out she was a producer on Buffy The Vampire Slayer, the greatest show ever? Dolly is not only talented, but she’s cool af! #DollyParton #BuffyTheVampireSlayer,” wrote another social media user. One person added: “Dolly Parton is an amazing business women in entertainment. Her being a secret producer for Buffy the vampire slayer is truly incredible. Makes me love the show that much more.” “Wait, what?” several other fans said to express their dismay. “Just learned that @DollyParton was a producer on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and my mind is blown. Just put Dolly in charge of the world already! #womanpower #Buffy #dollyparton,” another hilariously tweeted. As of Saturday, Parton has yet to comment on her involvement on the show. The singer and songwriter, 74, appears to be keeping busy this week by sharing her “At Home” playlist with amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Fun!  Definitely wouldn’t have seen that one coming..  But, who doesn’t like Buffy?  It was such a great cult tv show for seven seasons (and yes, I own them all), and then continued in the graphic novel medium (have them too, don’t judge).  Buffy was the creation of Joss Whedon who also did Toy Story, and the two Marvel Avenger movies; the first one and Age of Ultron.

Ricky Gervais calls out celebs amid coronavirus quarantine: ‘People are just a bit tired of being lectured to’

British comedian Ricky Gervais continues to roast Hollywood’s elites whom he believes are becoming lecturers to the general public amid the global coronavirus pandemic and should simply stop trying to tell others what to do. “I’ve got nothing against anyone being a celebrity or being famous,” he told the New York Times in an interview published on Thursday. “I think that people are just a bit tired of being lectured to. Now celebrities think: ‘The general public needs to see my face. They can’t get to the cinema – I need to do something.’ And it’s when you look into their eyes, you know that, even if they’re doing something good, they’re sort of thinking, ‘I could weep at what a good person I am.’ Oh dear.” Gervais, 58, sent shockwaves through social media when he shaded a room full of A-listers at the Golden Globe Awards in January. Gervais’ message at the time was that many celebrities were being too preachy and were much too out of touch to speak on issues plaguing the common man. He told the Times that he strategically navigates the fine line between putdowns and offered an interesting take what it means to be a “court jester” and admitted that while he can get away with the jokes he makes on stage, he knows he likely won’t be lambasted for doing so. “No, the world hasn’t changed. No one looks at me differently. And I’ve got nothing against those people, really,” he explained when asked of his growing conservative fan base. “I think that’s the mistake people make: They think that every joke is a window to the comedian’s soul — because I wrote it and performed it under my own name, that that’s really me. And that’s just not true. I’ll flip a joke halfway through and change my stance to make the joke better.” He continued: “I’ll pretend to be right-wing, left-wing, whatever wing, no wing. I’ve got to go after the richest people in the room, and NBC and the Hollywood Foreign Press [Association, which organizes the Golden Globes]. I’ve got to be a court jester, but a court jester’s got to make sure that he doesn’t get executed as well. I’ve got to make all the peasants laugh at the king, but the king’s sort of got to like it.” The funnyman said he was taken aback by the uptick in support from right-leaning backers but said he wasn’t aware of it until “a couple of disgruntled liberal elites suddenly said, ‘Oh, Gervais is alt-right now.’” “And I went, what? What’s right-wing about taking the mickey out of the richest, most powerful corporations on the planet?” Prior to Gervais’ conversation with the Times, numerous celebrities have showered the internet with videos starring themselves from the confines of their homes or their chosen quarantine quarters.

And NOBODY cares about them…which they don’t get….but Ricky does.    🙂

‘Rambo: First Blood’ and ‘Tommy Boy’ actor Brian Dennehy dead at 81

Veteran actor Brian Dennehy, known for roles in “Rambo: First Blood,” “Tommy Boy” and “To Catch A Killer,” died Wednesday at age 81. The burly actor started in films as a macho heavy and later in his career won plaudits for his stage work in plays by William Shakespeare, Anton Chekhov, Eugene O’Neill and Arthur Miller. He died of natural causes in New Haven, Conn., according to Kate Cafaro of ICM Partners, the actor’s representatives. Known for his broad frame, booming voice and ability to play good guys and bad guys with equal aplomb, Dennehy won two Tony Awards, a Golden Globe and was nominated for six Emmys. He was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 2010. Among his 40-odd films, he played a sheriff who jailed Rambo in “First Blood,” a serial killer in “To Catch a Killer,” and a corrupt sheriff gunned down by Kevin Kline in “Silverado.” He also had some benign roles: the bartender who consoles Dudley Moore in “10” and the levelheaded leader of aliens in “Cocoon” and its sequel. Eventually, Dennehy wearied of the studio life. “Movies used to be fun,” he observed in an interview. “They took care of you, first-class. Those days are gone.” Dennehy had a long connection with Chicago’s Goodman Theater, which had a reputation for heavy drama. He appeared in Bertolt Brecht’s “Galileo” in 1986 and later Chekhov’s “Cherry Orchard” at far lower salaries than he earned in Hollywood. In 1990 he played the role of Hickey in Eugene O’Neill’s “The Iceman Cometh,” a play he reprised at the Goodman with Nathan Lane in 2012 and in Brooklyn in 2013. In 1998, Dennehy appeared on Broadway in the classic role of Willy Loman, the worn-out hustler in Miller’s “Death of a Salesman” and won the Tony for his performance. “What this actor goes for is close to an everyman quality, with a grand emotional expansiveness that matches his monumental physique,” wrote Ben Brantley in his review of the play for The New York Times. “Yet these emotions ring so unerringly true that Mr. Dennehy seems to kidnap you by force, trapping you inside Willy’s psyche.” He was awarded another Tony in 2003 for his role in O’Neill’s “Long Day’s Journey into Night.” At the podium, after thanking his family, co-stars and producers and complementing his competitors, he said: “The words of Eugene O’Neill — they’ve got to be heard. They’ve got to be heard, and heard and heard. And thank you so much for giving us the chance to enunciate them.” Dennehy was born July 9, 1938, in Bridgeport, Conn., the first of three sons. His venture into acting began when he was 14 in New York City and a student at a Brooklyn high school. He acted the title role in “Macbeth.” He played football on a scholarship at Columbia University, and he served five years in the U.S. Marines. Back in New York City in 1965, he pursued acting while working at side jobs. “I learned first-hand how a truck driver lives, what a bartender does, how a salesman thinks,” he told The New York Times in 1989. “I had to make a life inside those jobs, not just pretend.” His parents — Ed Dennehy, an editor for The Associated Press in New York, and Hannah Dennehy, a nurse — could never understand why his son chose to act. “Anyone raised in a first- or second-generation immigrant family knows that you are expected to advance the ball down the field,” Dennehy told Columbia College Today in 1999. “Acting didn’t qualify in any way.” The 6-foot-3-inch Dennehy went to Hollywood for his first movie, “Semi-Tough” starring Burt Reynolds and Kris Kristofferson. Dennehy was paid $10,000 a week for 10 week’s work, which he thought “looked like it was all the money in the world.” Among his films: “Looking for Mr. Goodbar,” “Foul Play,” “Little Miss Marker,” “Split Image,” “Gorky Park,” “Legal Eagles,” “Miles from Home,” “Return to Snowy River,” “Presumed Innocent,” “Romeo and Juliet” and “Assault on Precinct 13.” He played serial murderer John Wayne Gacy in the 1991 TV movie “To Catch a Killer” and union leader Jackie Presser in the HBO special “Teamster Boss” a year later. “I try to play villains as if they’re good guys and good guys as if they’re villains,” he said in 1992 He worked deep into his 70s, in such projects as SundanceTV’s “Hap and Leonard,” the film “The Seagull” with Elisabeth Moss and Annette Bening and the play “Endgame” by Samuel Beckett at the Long Wharf Theatre. His last foray on Broadway was in “Love Letters” opposite Mia Farrow in 2014. He is survived by his second wife, costume designer Jennifer Arnott and their two children, Cormac and Sarah. He also is survived by three daughters — Elizabeth, Kathleen and Deirdre — from a previous marriage to Judith Scheff.

We’re sorry to hear of Brian’s passing.  His roles were iconic.  Our prayers go to his family.  Thanks for the memory’s, Brian.  R.I.P.

Ricky Gervais bashes rich celebrities complaining about coronavirus quarantine: ‘I just don’t want to hear it’

Ricky Gervais has some choice words for rich celebrities who are complaining about being under coronavirus quarantine in multimillion-dollar mansions. The 58-year-old comedian took notice of stars that have been reacting negatively to being in isolation in an effort to curtail the spread of COVID-19. Ellen DeGeneres returned to do her talk show from home where she caught backlash for joking that being in quarantine is like a prison. Meanwhile, Sam Smith and Kelly Ripa got emotional during video interviews while talking about the struggles of staying at home. In a new interview with The Sun, Gervais pulled no punches in lambasting the affluent celebrities for struggling under the new conditions. “After this is over I never want to hear people moaning about the welfare state again, I never want to hear people moaning about nurses again. Or porters,” he explained. “These people are doing 14-hour shifts and not complaining. Wearing masks, and being left with sores, after risking their own health and their families’ health selflessly. But then I see someone complaining about being in a mansion with a swimming pool. And, you know, honestly, I just don’t want to hear it.” After his seemingly angry rant, the comedian pivoted to a lighter tone, noting that he’s doing fine under quarantine given that he was always more of an introvert. “I didn’t go out much anyway, and there’s always too much booze in the house. It’s always been the 6 p.m. watershed for as long as I remember. Obviously, I am looking at the watch,” he joked. Gervais explained that, despite the fame, success and money he’s earned today, he remembers the humble beginnings that he came from, noting that he “had no money growing up, I didn’t have any until I was 40.” He was especially grateful for his hardworking mother, who he says made sure his family wanted for nothing, except cash. “Men worked hard, but women worked miracles,” he told the outlet. “Because when my dad finished his work that was his own time. But my mum didn’t stop working, women didn’t stop working. Carers didn’t stop working, all the women in my family were carers in some respect.” This is hardly the first time that Gervais has used his platform as a celebrity to tear into fellow actors and actresses. In January he hosted the Golden Globes for the fifth time and made no bones about criticizing the Hollywood elite at the event. He even called out the many stars in the room for their relationship to large corporations like Apple, Amazon and Disney. “Apple roared into the TV game with ‘The Morning Show,’ a superb drama about the importance of dignity and doing the right thing made by a company that runs sweatshops in China,” he said at the time. “So you say you’re ‘woke’, but the companies you work for, Apple, Amazon, Disney… If ISIS had a streaming service you would be calling your agents.”

HAHAHA!!  We posted what all Ricky said that night at the Golden Globes back in January.  Glad he’s still at it, telling his fellow entitlement-minded, out-of-touch,  HollyWEIRD liberal elitists to shut the hell up.  It all kinda started with Arnold S. posting some video of him soaking in his hot tub, smoking  a cigar and telling us all to just stay home and relax.  As much as we love the former Governator, it showed a breathtaking lack of relatability to the rest of us peasants who don’t have a gazillion dollar mansion, and the only worry we have is if our housekeeper can’t come to clean up after us during this lockdown.  Millions of Americans are suffering, and now unemployed trying to figure how they’re gonna pay for groceries or make the next rent/mortgage payment.  It’s like Colin Kaepernick whining how he’s all “oppressed” with his three mansions, and so on.  Yeah right..  Can I please be that “oppressed?”  Thanks Ricky for calling these pampered idiots out!  Excellent!!     🙂

Alyssa Milano Says ‘Stop the Coronavirus Gun Surge’ After Admitting to Owning Guns for Self-Defense

Actress and left-wing activist Alyssa Milano is telling people to stop buying up firearms during the coronavirus pandemic, saying that the “coronavirus gun surge” must come to an end. Her warning comes just a few months after the former Charmed star admitted that she owns two guns for self-defense purposes. Alyssa Milano posted a video on Twitter late Thursday in which she admonished gun owners for stockpiling weapons and ammunition during a time of crisis — and while criminals in states across the country are being freed from prison. “I know that we are all scared and stressed out during these really uncertain times. But that is exactly why stockpiling weapons , you know, could have dire consequences for our own personal safety and those around us,” the actress said. “The weapons that people are buying today could end up being used in households, schools, churches, bars, and on our streets in the future. So we all have to look out for each other. Milano concluded: “We can’t lose anymore lives to guns during this pandemic, or after it’s over.” But the Hollywood star admitted in a debate with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) in September that she personally owns firearms. “I have two guns in my household for self-defense, just so you know,” she said. Do as I say, not as I do. Milano has proposed universal background checks, restricting access to AR-15s, and background checks for bullet purchases. At the same time, she has insisted that she is a defender of the Second Amendment. Breitbart News has reported that gun sales are surging during the Chinese conronavirus pandemic, overwhelming both state and federal background check systems. Alyssa Milano has recently come under fire for downplaying a sexual harassment allegation against presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, who has been accused by a former staffer of using his fingers to penetrate her against her will. Milano has been a major supporter of the Time’s Up and #MeToo movements, even attending the Supreme Court confirmation hearings of Justice Brett Kavanaugh and declaring that women must be believed. But she recently said on Twitter that accusations against men must now be investigated “with due process.”

Alyssa is a nauseating, self-righteous, elitist, liberal hypocrite.  She wants you to do as she says, but not as she does herself.  She thinks its ok for her to have multiple weapons in her house…but not ok for you to do the same.  Why?  Because she thinks shes better than the rest of us peasants…and that we don’t “need” them.   And, then her duplicitous handling of Joe Biden’s sexual harassment allegations versus how she sat right behind Justice Brent Kavanaugh during his Senate confirmation hearings and said that women needed to be believed first…and yet Joe Biden should have “due process?”  Really?  Why is that, Alyssa?  Because he’s a Democrat?  Hmm?  Alyssa is the poster child for HollyWEIRD, self-righteous, entitlement-mined, arrogant, liberal elitists who look down at the rest of us and tell us how to live, while they do just the opposite.  Ironically, she was ripped by conservatives for the video, including by actor James Woods, who thanked her for the “reminder” to stock up.  “Thank you for the reminder,” he tweeted.   “When the looting starts, always be prepared. Buy more ammo!”  Agreed!!  Thanks James!      🙂

Dennis Quaid praises Donald Trump’s coronavirus response: ‘He’s involved’

Dennis Quaid praised President Donald Trump’s response to the coronavirus pandemic and broke with many in Hollywood by calling on the country to rally behind the government during this historically difficult time. The “Parent Trap” actor has been watching the COVID-19 situation’s effect on the nation’s healthcare system closely. He became a patient-safety advocate after his newborn twins almost died in 2007 after they were accidentally administered an overdose at a hospital. Speaking with The Daily Beast, Quaid praised Trump and his administration for taking early action such as the travel ban despite many of the president’s critics arguing that he didn’t take warnings of the pandemic that came as early as January seriously until March. “Well, to tell you the truth, I think the president is handling it in a good way. We see him on television every day, he’s involved, and the travel ban early on was a great idea–which he did in spite of protest about that. But I don’t want to get into the protest,” Quaid said when asked about the government’s response. “I’m an independent—I’ve voted both ways throughout my life, swinging like a pendulum toward what the country needed at the time—and I think this might be an opportunity for the country to come together again. World War II did that for that generation, and this might be our defining moment of a generation. It’s going to be a different world, for sure, when all this is over, and hopefully we can all be a bit more unified.” The actor defended Trump’s decision to send medical supplies to China in February after being briefed that the virus was likely to hit U.S. shores within weeks by saying that he was “trying to defeat the virus at its source at the time.” He echoed the president’s words by criticizing the state of New York, which has become the epicenter of the pandemic in the U.S., for not buying “thousands of ventilators at a very good price like two years ago.” However, he praised Gov. Andrew Cuomo for “doing a great job out there working for the people of his state. He went on to further extend praise to Trump. “I think Trump, no matter what anybody thinks of him, is doing a good job at trying to get these states—and all of the American people—what they need, and also trying to hold our economy together and be prepared for when this is all over. I don’t want to get into petty arguments about it.” Several continue to blame Trump for the country being underprepared for a pandemic-level crisis, with reports indicating that he was warned about the potential scale and death toll in January but failed to act until the travel ban. The actor blamed Congress for hindering Trump’s response following the president’s impeachment trial, which ended in the Senate on Feb. 5. “You know, the world has never experienced this, and I don’t think it’s a time to be political. I think it’s just time to get behind our government and have everybody do what they can. If you want to point blame after, that’s another story, but right now I think we all just really need to come together on this,” Quaid concluded. “I do appreciate that Trump is giving the briefings and on television every day giving out the information, and I think they have great people handling it. Just one more thing out side of that: Despite presidents, Congress, and political parties, this is the United States of America, and we’re a very adaptable people in situations like this, and I think we’re all going to get through it. My heart goes out to everyone.”

Good on Dennis for having the courage to say this.  Not too many in HollyWEIRD would have that kind of courage.