Lily Allen (Lily Cooper) defends herself against claims that her video for “Hard Out Here” is kind of racist and that she’s not really making the scathing indictment of sexist “ratchet culture” that she thinks she’s making. [Amy Grindhouse]
More on this Lily Allen mess. [Jezebel]
Cameron Diaz’s Miss Hannigan look is… rough. [ICYDK]
Jessica Chastain discusses her daddy drama with Vogue. [Wonderwall]
Katie Couric replacing Barbara Walters on The View? [CDAN]
Taylor Swift covers Eminem’s “Lose Yourself”. [Bitten & Bound]
Nicolas Cage has sex photos and they were stolen. [IDLY]
Justin Bieber pissed off Argentina. [PopBytes]
Adorable puppy chews on stairs. So cute. [The Frisky]
Ted Cruz thinks black people should be Republican. [Bossip]
Jeff Probst, naked with bacon. Yay, bacon! [Seriously OMG WTF]
The best “drops” ever? Sure. [OMG Blog]
Wait, Miranda Lambert is only 30 years old?! [Life & Style]
Aaron Taylor-Johnson needs to shave his neck. [LaineyGossip]
Um, sorry, did I miss the ‘Anthony Mackie got a DUI’ article? thanks
Are you trolling?
http://www.celebitchy.com/333356/anthony_mackie_35_charged_with_a_dwi_in_harlem_no_big_deal_or_very_big_deal/
Lily Allen bores me.
I like her I guess. But it’s kind of more that I don’t dislike her. I kind of forgot she existed.
I think Ted Cruz should take a long walk off a short pier. Yay, I love sharing our thoughts!
I would have pegged Miranda Lambert at 35. Huh.
I know right every time I hear or read Ted Cruz, my brain does an audible UGH.
Several political commentators are saying that Cruz could be the Republican nominee for the next Presidential election.
Scary.
scary to think that there are people who agree with his stances on things, and would like to see him as Pres, yes…
…but not so scary for the “other side” as he’ll be easy to beat.
Yes, but it’s important to remember that political commentators are ALWAYS wrong.
What stances of his are so awful?
Nic Cage?!
Oh man this calls for a Nic Cage-Line:’Put the bunny back in the box!!!’
Oh, Lily! I used to like you!
Can someone wake me up when this twerking thing is over, please?
I really dislike Lily Allen’s music. Also, I have a brain AND I like to shake my a**.
She is taking the piss out of robin thick ( Lilly allen has a baggy you know what) Kanye and miley ( the twerking). She is criticising the music industry. Its not a great song but god knows the music industry needs an antidote to all those people.
Exactly, and she’s taking it out on black rappers, as well as Miley Cyrus. Congratulations, Lily Allen, on pissing off everybody who is complacent about what they see in videos today. Hurrah! Hurrah!
Yeah, I don’t get why it has to be one or the other.
She clarified this on Twitter. Apparently, the line is “I don’t need to shake my a** FOR YOU”.
I love Lily. Can someone please explain to me how is this racist because I don’t see it.
@Spooks
Some good links explaining the problematic aspects of the video:
http://www.blackgirldangerous.org/2013/11/13/easy-white-bitch-words-lily-allens-new-video/
http://flavorwire.com/424995/is-there-a-racist-undertone-to-lily-allens-hard-out-here-video/
I got these links on the Guerilla Feminism page on Facebook (a good starting point for intersectional feminism/social justice), the comments on the posts also do a good job of outlining why the video is racist.
Is that a mole on her right arm with a hair growing out of it?
Oh no! How dare she!
… sorry for the sarcasm but … like… come on…I’m sure a lot of people have the same.
Dear Lily Allen,
Thanks for putting the final nail in the coffin of “irony.”
Sincerely (obviously),
Fanty.
Thank you! This is the irony we have all been seeking that puts an end to the uber- masculine nonsense we have grown so sick of and that Miley Cyrus has bought into. Adult entertainment is what Lily is showing–you have to know what is ironic here: all of it. Take THAT rubbish and EXPOSE it, Lily! Especially the 40-year-old music industry executive. It is all there to see! Damn, she’s good!
Second that comment! Well said!
I like Lily but this video is a total misfire. They should have thought about it more and they could have actually made it an effective satire. I do like the song tho
I am not sure how anyone can misconstrue what that song is about or what the video is about. It’s not that complicated and not that serious.
It’s striking that the black dancers are the only ones in lingerie/leotards/bodysuits and who are consistently focused on. Not Lily or the other two white dancers, but just the black dancers. I understand the criticism. I think it’s pretty valid to make. She might be criticizing the way the music industry works nowadays but unfortunately, her video only perpetuates the problems existing within the industry.
Also, i feel her lyric “I don’t need to shake my ass coz i’ve got a brain” is really insulting. People can shake their asses and have brains too. And it sucks even more that she sings that and cuts to the black women twerking and dancing.
The line is “I don’t need to shake my ass FOR YOU coz i’ve got a brain”.
Criticise her if you want, but at least criticise her for things she actually said. Nowhere does she say smart women can’t shake their arse if they want.
I agree, it’s clearly satire.
People who see exposed racism in this video make a subject to race. That’s what makes it ‘racist”, IMO. They could be purple for all I care.
I mean even the white manager is twerking.
yes this is so obviously satire. there’s even a Rebel Wilson look-alike. surprised people don’t get it.
Remarkably clueless for Lily Allen. This is a Miley virus caliber move.
Wouldn’t a more pointed critique have been expressed by having mostly white guys in suits as dancers who gradually disrobe and are thus subject to the same objectification music execs inflict on women artists?
Yep. But we obviously missed the joke. Rme.
Although I find the song catchy and will probably work out to it, I was super annoyed by her “you’ll find me in the studio and not in the kitchen” line. Just, like, two years ago when she got married she was all “I’m taking my husband’s name and living in my little cottage and I’m going to cook and clean and be a mom and be “house proud” (her words)”. And now, of course, she’s an artist! and a feminist! so of course you won’t find her in the kitchen! I’m a stay at home mom and a feminist and yeah, most days you will find me in the kitchen. It’s just a place where food is made. It doesn’t make me a bad feminist.
Geez… I know that people change, but every time they do, they shouldn’t be so openly dismissive of the way they once were. I try to be careful about that–though sometimes I’m sure I can be a hypocrite.
Also, MollyB, I just wanted to say that I’m not a stay-at-home mom, but I do agree with you that it’s perfectly possible to be one and also be a proud feminist 🙂
Aw, Molly, this rant made me like you. 🙂
Have never herd of the term “house proud”. It’s so charming!
Don’t know her story but I’m quite glad there is a feminist voice out there, even if her agenda was different a couple of years ago. I choose to believe she didn’t mean any harm with this video, and I buy into the argument that she wouldn’t send the black dancers home (just because they’re black) if they won the casting as best twerkers. But it is true the video is rather unfortunate in that it cuts to black bottoms far more than the rest and can be seen as portraying them negatively. Then again, is she criticizing black people for twerking or just the trend in the popculture? And twerking happens to be originally a black domain and I have to yet see a white girl twerking as well as they do. But the reason I’m really writing this comment is that it is uplifting that there are stay-at-home women who are feminists. Maybe that’s obvious but I’ve read too many negative anti-feminist and women-bashing comments from housewives recently. Kudos to you.
I think that Cameron Diaz looks great as Miss Hannigan. She is a rough character. I think she’s going to nail it.
I like some of her music, but she has always had a bit of a vile personality.
Why is nobody mentioning that there aren’t just black dancers in the video?
(And that the song isn’t very good…)
Yeah. There is also a blond girl (even a heavy one) and a vaguely Asian/Latina? looking one. But people want to see a controversy still being whipped up by Miley’s style.
True, I’ve noticed that too. So it’s not all bad 😉 The only problem is we can’t really dismiss the racist claims just because we haven’t been at the receiving end of the prejudice. Of course it might be subjective, it is after all very personal and dependent on one’s experiences, but shouldn’t make it any less valid (i.e. we don’t have sufficient knowledge to judge it from our point of view).
Oh, good. I thought it was my old fooginess getting in the way of understanding her video. 2 wrongs don’t make a right. People have legitimate concerns about Robin Thicke’s song & vid, but Lily’s isn’t doing her any favors either.
This black person thinks Ted Cruz should STFU and GTFO. Moron.
I like the song, but the video is just…too much, I couldn’t watch it all.
A## hole Alec Baldwin using homophobic slurs again @ tmz.He will get a pass again
Of course he will.
I don’t see racism. I see a stupid song with an even stupider (I know, not a word!) video. It’s probably one of the worst things I’ve had to endure visually and one of the worst songs ever. I get what she is trying to do/say but this is just terrible. AWFUL even. Stupid, dumb, dumber…
Stupider is now a word. 🙂
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stupider
Oh please, it’s funny! it’s sarcastic and witty. But no one here knows how to say anything positive about other females here. Par for the course.
So why are you here?
Agree! People need to calm down. Her music is original and intelligent. I like her sassy attitude too!
I had no problems with the video either, I think some people are just projecting and nitpicking. There’s been a trend in the last few years of constantly having to be scandalized by things, and that will cause people to stop paying attention when it actually matters.
Offense Culture. It’s a thing, and it’s getting ridiculous. People think criticising is contributing. But defining yourself by the things you oppose isn’t healthy.
I’m all for debate, but some people just look for things to be troubled by. It’s a constant feature on Twitter.
That is absolutely untrue. While there are always going to be posts and comments that throw shade and illicit downright hate (sometimes irrational, imo) There are just as many positive posts and comments. Don’t make such sweeping generalizations, it is offensive.
I didn’t find the video offensive because I got the message she was trying to convey. Could the message of the video been better presented, sure. But I don’t think the video subtracts from the message. This coming from a black woman. I am more offended by the rap videos this one is mocking.
Thoughts on Jake Gyllenhaal’s freak out?
Yes, my thought is that he needs to eat. I have always said this about women who starve themselves skinny–it affects your emotions big time. And not in a good way. Apparently it affects men the same way.
I love the video and the song. I think people are over dissecting it. She said on twitter that the dancers were chosen because they were the best during the audition, there’s nothing more to it then that. And I believe her.
Eh, I think the song is really annoying, and I’m not sure how having women twerk with most of their butts hanging out, or spraying themselves with coca cola, or pretending to give a bannana a blow job, fights patriarchy in music. She could’ve made the same point by having male back up dancers do it, AND it would be funny/less cringeworthy. Because I was a little grossed out.
Wait, why is it any better if men do it? They’d still be degrading themselves.
If the point is to show how the music industry degrades women on a daily basis–the point would’ve been better served if she had men doing it, instead of women. In my opinion, of course.
That’s the point. It’s supposed to make you think it’s too much. THAT IS SATIRE 101.
Sure, and then they only put the white dancers in jackets, positioned them symmetrically on the outside of the group in the frame (because, you know, color coordination) and focused at length and in slo mo on the black dancers’ body parts.
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Lily Allen. It’s satire, folks. She makes some very valid points. She’s extremely smart and funny.
I liked Allen’s past albums, so I wish I could agree, but there is nothing remotely satiricial about presenting the same pictures as any rap video. Also, the melody and cadence are a sad, weak retread of her own past work.
The most charitable interpretation of the video is (a) thoughtlessness, or (b) that the song is not about the objectification of women, but the objectification/criticism’s of Lily Allen’s post-baby body, a point referenced several times in the song. Which leads to the defensive “I don’t need to shake my ass coz i’ve got a brain”. Seems to me that she was plenty happy to often shake her ass in skimpy onstage outfits when her body self-image was good:
Google image (NSFW): http://tinyurl.com/k9zrca4
So, less petulant defensiveness about your body, please, Lily, and more thought about the treatment of women’s bodies in general.
Why is everyone misquoting that lyric? Are they doing it intentionally, or are they just not listening properly?
It’s “I don’t need to shake my ass FOR YOU coz i’ve got a brain”. As in, she doesn’t need to do it on demand.
BEcause people want to hate on her. It’s annoying me, too.
Ah, I just said she’s as relevant as Myspace on the Lorde-Selena thread. The song is catchy enough, hilarious video but it’s been done — Jewel’s Ignition, P!nk’s Stupid Girls and to some extent her own The Fear song.
Just watched it and I don’t see the big deal. She’s poking fun at the music industry and the twerking craze.
Ditto! I liked it, although the lipo part in the beginning kind of icked me out.
Guys seriously? She is OBVIOUSLY saying “look what we all think is normal, and even necessary–f*ked up, isn’t it?” I mean it’s actually right in the lyrics, and the mocking imagery, and…. holy Dinah. People. This is as satirical as satirical gets.
Hmm, I think it might say the right things… Recreating the imagery isn’t the best way to go about tearing something down but those ladies looked like they were having more fun than Miley’s circus. I liked the end when she’s just giggling at the lead dancer because that would be me! I’d be like DAMN are there real gears in there or what! Also, her song is not bad and her voice is nice. Miley’s is graaaaaaating. Rihanna, kind of a grating voice for me too (Umbrella, anyone).
That song is funny- and good.
I am disappointed but not surprised by Allen. She is is not intelligent enough to be anti racist or anti sexist. She should leave the satirical to artist like lady gaga and pink. They manage to make anti sexist comments without being racist. My charge of racist based on her history or herstory ( hey I am done with a sisters) namely she painted a hubby’s penis as a Gollywog and twitter it. Funny maybe stupid probably
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