Dominique Sharpton, daughter of shakedown artist Al Sharpton, scored a $95,000 settlement from the city over a sprained ankle — even though she had posted snaps of herself on social media climbing a mountain in Bali and strutting around in high heels just seven months after the fall.
It took nearly four years, but de Blasio administration lawyers finally threw in the towel in the case.
“After a thorough evaluation, we determined that settling this case was in the best interest of the city,” said a spokesman for the city Law Department.
The 32-year-old Brooklyn resident, who is the eldest daughter of the activist and TV host, sued the city in April 2015 for $5 million after “severely” injuring her right leg on cracked pavement crossing Broadway at Broome Street in 2014.
“I sprained my ankle real bad lol,” she wrote in an Instagram post after the Oct. 2, 2014, stumble.
Her suit said she was in “permanent physical pain,” but the fall didn’t stop her from wearing high heels, mounting a ladder to decorate a Christmas tree and even hiking for two hours up a mountain during a girls getaway to Indonesia in May 2016.
She posted snaps of herself performing the feats on social media.
The case was settled after the city admitted it was aware of the cracked pavement in the crosswalk but did nothing to fix it.
Reached by phone Friday, Dominique Sharpton wasn’t even aware that a deal had been reached. “I don’t really know the particulars at this time,” she told The Post.
Her lawyer, John Elefterakis, said the “case was always about fair compensation for Ms. Sharpton’s ankle injury, which we contend was a result of the city’s negligence.”
“Despite unfair treatment in the press, this settlement reflects the reasonableness of Ms. Sharpton, who was willing to settle her meritorious claim for a fair amount based on all factors,” he said.
DCG
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The progressive mob recently had their panties in a wad over the “Cowboys and Indians” birthday party Hart had for his son.
Hart should have learned that you never cave to the SJW mob.
From Hollywood Reporter: Kevin Hart is stepping down as Oscars host just two days after the Academy announced he would take on the high-profile gig. The move came amid a mounting controversy after old tweets surfaced in which Hart expressed anti-gay sentiments and used homophobic terminology and slurs.
In a tweet late Thursday, Hart officially withdrew from hosting the Oscars, a role he had long wanted to step into. “I have made the choice to step down from hosting this year’s Oscar’s….this is because I do not want to be a distraction on a night that should be celebrated by so many amazing talented artists. I sincerely apologize to the LGBTQ community for my insensitive words from my past,” Hart wrote.
He added seconds later, “I’m sorry that I hurt people. I am evolving and want to continue to do so. My goal is to bring people together not tear us apart. Much love & appreciation to the Academy. I hope we can meet again.”
Earlier in the evening, Hart had posted an Instagram video from Sydney, Australia, where he is touring, saying that he had refused a demand from the Academy to apologize. He said the Academy gave him an ultimatum: Apologize for his old tweets or step down as Oscars host.
“I passed. The reason I passed is because I’ve addressed this several times. This is not the first time this has come up,” he said. “Regardless, to the Academy, I’m thankful for the opportunity, if it goes away, no harm, no foul,” Hart added.
Ironically, in giving up the hosting spot, Hart actually offered the apology that earlier he had refused to provide.
The Academy did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
But for the Academy, the situation smacks of déjà vu. In late 2011, Brett Ratner resigned as producer of the 84th Academy Awards after saying “rehearsal is for fags” in a public Q&A for his film Tower Heist. Ratner’s exit led to the departure of Eddie Murphy, that year’s announced host, who stepped down in solidarity. (Billy Crystal filled in.)
Losing Hart as host will put even more pressure on Donna Gigliotti, who is producing the 91st Oscars, set to be broadcast by ABC on Feb. 24. This week’s announcement that Hart would host came relatively late in the process. Now, finding a new host to take on emcee duties could be even more difficult.
Earlier in the day, Hart issued an Instagram video in which he said, “I swear, man, our world is becoming beyond crazy. I’m not going to let the craziness frustrate me or anger me, especially when I worked hard to get to the mental space that I am at now.”
He continued, “My team calls me, ‘Oh, my God, Kevin, this world is upset about tweets you did years ago.’Guys. I’m almost 40 years old. If you don’t believe that people change, grow, evolve as they get older, I don’t know what to tell you. If you want to hold people in a position where they always have to justify or explain their past, then do you. I’m the wrong guy, man,” Hart says. “I’m in a great place, a great mature place, where all I do is spread positivity.”
The tweets in question included a 2011 tweet in which the comedian and movie star had written, “Yo if my son comes home & try’s 2 play with my daughters doll house I’m going 2 break it over his head & say n my voice ‘stop that’s gay.'” In another from 2010, Hart says someone’s profile pic looks “like a gay bill board for AIDS.” In another written in 2009, he called someone a “fat faced fag.”
Those tweets and many more like them could be found as recently as Tuesday, the day Hart was announced as host. But as word of them began to spread in the days following, they began to disappear.
The tweets drew condemnation from the likes of actor-comedian Billy Eichner, who tweeted, “You can tell its not just a joke — there’s real truth, anger & fear behind these. I hope Kevin’s thinking has evolved since 2011.”
Journalist Mark Harris went even further, tweeting the choice of Hart as host was “out-of-sync for a year in which Rami Malek, Melissa McCarthy, Olivia Colman, Mahershala Ali, Richard E. Grant, Emma Stone, Rachel Weisz and Lucas Hedges could all get nominated for playing LBGTQ characters.”
GLAAD reached out to ABC, the Academy and Hart’s management to “discuss his rhetoric and record as well as opportunities for positive LGBTQ inclusion on the Oscars stage,” said Rich Ferraro, chief communications officer for GLAAD. He said they did not immediately respond.
GLAAD responded to Hart’s decision to step down in a statement on Friday morning.
“Kevin Hart shouldn’t have stepped down; he should have stepped up,” said GLAAD president and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis. “Hart’s apology to LGBTQ people is an important step forward, but he missed a real opportunity to use his platform and the Oscars stage to build unity and awareness. We would still welcome that conversation with him. The Academy has recently made significant strides in featuring diverse talent onstage and they should now double down on that commitment as they look for a new host.”
It was not the first time Hart’s thoughts on LGBTQ people have caused controversy. A 2011 standup routine about his then 3-year-old son having a “gay moment” — “You’ve got to nip it in the bud!” he warned the audience — was criticized as promoting homophobic and dangerous parenting, according to The Guardian.
Tyler Hubbard in a screenshot from his Instagram plea…
This extremely biased article does not call out the real goal of this group: Eliminate private gun sales (as they reference an “unlicensed dealer” sale at a gun show.) Funny, I couldn’t find one mass shooting that was committed with a gun obtained via private sale.
But never let facts get in the way of an agenda.
From Yahoo: After announcing his involvement in the Toms apparel company’s campaign to support universal background checks in the firearm industry last week, Florida Georgia Line’s Tyler Hubbard went one step further on Monday, calling out 34 fellow country artists to add their voice of support to Toms’ “End Gun Violence Together” campaign.
In an interview with Rolling Stone Country, Hubbard expanded on his decision to speak out on the issues of gun violence and gun control, and explained the reasoning behind his call to encourage a wide range of country artists — including Blake Shelton, Chris Stapleton, Miranda Lambert, Sam Hunt, Luke Bryan and even fellow FGL bandmate Brian Kelley — to join him in the campaign.
“We’ve been given a platform and a voice for a reason, and it’s really time to start using that voice for more than just talking about our music and ourselves,” Hubbard says. “Whether it’s at a country bar or a country concert, every artist in our genre has been affected by gun violence directly or indirectly, and it’s something that really hits close to home and something that everybody wants to talk about, but doesn’t really know how to. But there’s no better time than now.”
Hubbard’s comments come just a month after last month’s shooting at the Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks, California, where 12 men and women were killed at the country music bar, and little more than a year after the massacre at the Route 91 Harvest festival in Las Vegas, two events that have galvanized the country music community on the issue of gun violence. “We’ve seen it firsthand,” he says. “Our fans and artists are getting shot.”
The Georgia native also cites growing up and having a family with wife Hayley Hubbard as factors that have influenced his thinking on gun violence over the years. “Before, I’d like to think that I was probably a hard-ass who could dodge a bullet, which is not true,” he says. “Now that I’ve got a wife and kids and family, I really start to think about things from a different perspective and I really want to start trying to make a change.”
Hubbard explained that focusing on an issue like universal background checks, supported by a vast majority of Americans in repeated polls, helped make it easier to speak out on a polarizing topic like gun control. “You’d have to be hard-pressed to find somebody that thinks there shouldn’t be background checks,” says Hubbard. “It’s not really as confrontational or controversial as one may think.”
The federal National Instant Criminal Background Check System, or NICS, has been in place since 1993, but there are a number of inefficiencies and loopholes (including the ability to purchase firearms from unlicensed dealers at a gun show without a background check), that have made the system less than 100 percent effective. Toms’ “End Gun Violence Together” campaign is aimed at encouraging lawmakers to pass legislation that would strengthen the federal government’s ability to run background checks on all citizens purchasing firearms in the United States.
Speaking alongside Hubbard, Toms founder/CEO Blake Mycoskie expressed admiration for the Florida Georgia Line singer’s ability to address the issues from the perspective of a firearm enthusiast. “That’s my favorite part of Tyler’s first video, is when he says, ‘I’m a proud gun owner,’” says Mycoskie, who, like Hubbard, admits he has not historically been involved in politics. “That, to me, is what broke the dam: the idea that we can celebrate the sporting nature of using guns responsibly and at the same time we can say that it doesn’t make sense that if you’re a felon you can leave prison and go buy five guns tomorrow.”
Toms’ campaign encourages citizens to send a postcard to their legislators urging them to pass universal background check legislation. Mycoskie says that since launching the initiative last month, more than 600,000 postcards have been sent to lawmakers via the company’s website.
Hubbard and Dierks Bentley were among the first country artists to join the campaign, which Mycoskie began after the Borderline shooting.
Since Hubbard’s challenge to fellow artists, Lady Antebellum and Little Big Town’s Karen Fairchild have voiced their support for the campaign.
“This isn’t about taking away anyone’s rights,” Fairchild wrote on Instagram. “We need better background checks.”
FYI: I’ve never done this before, yet I have chosen to keep comments off this post. Just have a moment of peace, prayer or gratitude – no matter what your reason.
Kevin Hart’s family enjoying a “Cowboys and Indians” birthday party
Celebrities and us normal folk don clothing to celebrate and imitate. Granted, some people do it with intent to offend yet for the majority that it not their goal, the just do it for fun.
Some people have so much butt hurt in their lives they seek out ways to be offended – even if it’s a little boy’s birthday party.
From Yahoo: When Eniko and Kevin Hart planned their son Kenzo’s first birthday party, it’s possible they were thinking of nothing but the kind of themed birthday parties they’d attended as children, then selected one that seemed like it would appeal most to their toddler. But once Eniko posted the photos from the cowboys and Indians party, they raised a storm of opinions about what such a theme really means.
“Zos cowboys & indians party was nothing but amazing! Thanks to everyone for coming.. we love you guys!” Eniko Hart wrote on Instagram Thursday, sharing photos of her family and friends decked out in cowboy costumes or draped in Native American blankets next to a teepee at an outdoor venue.
In the comments, amid the cooing — that is one very cute little boy — came critiques from Native Americans. Just as they often call for an end to dressing up in “Indian” costumes during Halloween, indigenous people have long called cowboys and Indians parties offensive.
“Disgusting. This is equivalent to having a kkk and black slaves party. #interminorityappropriation,” wrote @smitmk01.
Many called upon African-Americans like the Harts to see the parallels between blackface and turning native culture into costumes.
“So when ppl do blackface or dress as slave and owner for halloween ya cool with it? Yuuuuuup thats what i thought,” wrote @gymandtattooposts.
Adrienne K. on the website NativeAppropriations.comfurther uses the comparison between the way white Americans used negative stereotypes of both groups as a means to create the identity of a dominant white American culture.
“So, it’s clear there are large similarities between blackface and playing Indian — both are intentional acts that draw upon stereotypes and a racist history to enact whiteness — but our Nation has created a narrative in which blackface=racist, while redface=normal,” she writes. “Just because our national narrative and history has somehow normalized the phenomenon does not excuse its roots in the process of systematic erasure of the First Peoples from our homelands.”
That argument played out somewhat less eloquently on Eniko Hart’s feed, with many defending the party and calling the haters overly sensitive.
“I truly hope you and Kevin don’t apologize for this!!”@through1eye wrote to Eniko. “Welcome to the generation of offended. It’s a sad day when a child can’t even have an innocent cowboy and indian themed party.”
Neither Eniko nor Kevin Hart has commented on the controversy.
DCG
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From NY Post: If you were interested in witchcraft in 1692, you probably would have been jailed or burned at the stake. If you’re interested in witchcraft in 2018, you are probably an Instagram influencer.
According to the Pew Research Center, about 1.5 million Americans identify as Wiccan or pagan. A decade ago, that number was closer to 700,000. Presbyterians, by comparison, have about 1.4 million votaries.
So why has witch popularity doubled? Perhaps it’s because millennials were raised on Harry Potter? Or maybe it’s because of the rise in popularity of yoga and meditation, researchers suggest.
Regardless, millennials have embraced astrology and the supernatural, even if they aren’t quite sure why. In fact, Stella Bugbee, editor-in-chief and president of the Cut, told the Atlantic that their horoscope content traffic increased 150 percent from 2016 to 2017.
In the same article, Lucie Greene, worldwide director of J. Walter Thompson’s innovation group, which looks at cultural trends, said that over the past few years, New Age practices have “very much geared toward a millennial and young Gen X quotient.”
It’s important to note, however, that while most Wiccans are pagans, all pagans are not necessarily Wiccans. All “witches” also aren’t necessarily “Wiccan.” Confused? Us too.
“Pagan” is an umbrella term that includes a number of different spiritual beliefs, often lumped in with “primitive beliefs,” which was used to describe people from rural areas who had not adopted Christianity. “Wicca” is a religion that “affirms the existence of supernatural power,” according to Merriam-Webster. The term “Wiccan” didn’t enter the mainstream until the late 1950s.
Meanwhile, social media has made it easy for witches of all kinds to bring their practices out into the light, because let’s face it, shiny things like crystals make prime social content.
Influencers like Hoodwitch bring “everyday magic for the modern mystic” to your Instagram feed daily. Moreover, there are more than 2 million posts on the app with the hashtag #witchesofinstagram. Still, it’s not just millennials embracing technology to spread the sorcery. Laurie Cabot, the “Original Witch of Salem,” shares daily spells and insight on Twitter. Cabot was bestowed that title by the then-governor of Massachusetts, Michael Dukakis, in 1977.
Now, it’s not clear if today’s witches are actually practicing spells(they are, see below) and attending new moon meditations or if they’re just capitalist crones scooping up all the witch kitsch. Regardless, it all looks good on Instagram, and when it comes to millennials, that’s the whole point.
From Fox News: Amber Tamblyn shared her grim-sounding story from the 2016 presidential election as well as the impact the aftermath had on her as an expectant mother. The star revealed that she had brief thoughts of having to give her child away to Canada or Sweden in the wake of Donald Trump’s election.
The 35-year-old actress, who got her start on the soap opera “General Hospital,” spoke at Vulture Fest’s “Feminist AF” reading series where she shared an essay about her experience at the Javits Center with fellow celebrities Amy Schumer and America Ferrera at what would have been Hillary Clinton’s victory announcement.
“I swigged some more Zantac, and my baby shoved her foot into my ribs, as if to foreshadow the paint that was yet to come,” Tamblyn said (via The Hollywood Reporter).
She went on to describe in her essay the moment that Clinton’s director of strategic communications informed attendees that she would not be speaking that night.
“A dark realization swallowed me: I was going to bring a baby into this world. And not just any baby: a girl,” she said, revealing that’s when she had the thought about having to give her daughter away to Canadians or Swedes to save her from whatever perceived horrors she saw upcoming in Donald Trump’s presidency.
Later in the essay, she described collapsing on the subway station stairs the following day after experiencing shortness of breath. It turned out that she was just having a panic attack. Fortunately, the “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” actress gave birth to her daughter Marlow with her husband, “Arrested Development” actor David Cross. They shared images of the newborn in March of 2017.
“Somehow my wife gave birth to a 55-year-old furrier from Crown Heights. I’m investigating,” Cross wrote on Instagram at the time.
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Proggies always got their panties in a wad about something…
From Yahoo: Dior is facing backlash for cultural appropriation in campaign using Jennifer Lawrence.
In brand posts about the Dior Cruise 2019 collection, Lawrence is seen being photographed in the hills of California and heard talking about the indigenous people who motivated the brand’s designs. Although the campaign images are aesthetically pleasing, most people are displeased with Dior’s inability to secure a different face for the collection — namely, comedian Phoebe Robinson who took to her Instagram to make a statement against the brand.
“Dior and Jennifer Lawrence wanna celebrate traditional Mexican women riders thru a ‘modern lens’…by having a rich white woman named Jennifer be the face of this campaign? And like they couldn’t think of a better landscape to shoot than in California?!” the 2 Dope Queens actress wrote. “The audacity to call this s*** modern because it’s worn by a white woman is ignorant and gross, but unfortunately, not surprising.”
Other Instagram users have commented on the post to echo Robinson’s statement. “I’m extremely disappointed that yet again, major brands are using a rich white woman to promote other cultures. This is cultural appropriation not appreciation. Do better,” one person wrote. Another said, “My understanding of the word celebrate is different than Dior’s.”
However, others are praising Dior for celebrating another culture and acknowledging where the inspiration came from. Some have even pointed out that Lawrence has had a contract with the brand for years.
“The company is Dior and their brand ambassador is Jennifer Lawrence. They are honoring another culture with love and admiration! Nothing wrong with that!” someone said. “It is 2018 and people should know how fashion works. The woman is just doing her job and good on her too. Maybe if a woman with Mexican heritage was the brand ambassador for Dior then she would have represented this campaign,” wrote another.
Dior has yet to publicly respond to the controversy and didn’t immediately reply to Yahoo Lifestyle’s request for comment.
Well maybe not considering it is Hollyweird folks. Guns for me but not for thee…
Also odd is that people are actually defending looters. Wonder if these people sleep with their front doors unlocked at night?
From Yahoo: As if the devastating fires taking lives and ruining homes in California weren’t enough, people are now dealing with looters capitalizing on evacuated or burned-down houses. That includes celebrities.
Singer Pink‘s husband Carey Hart‘s post — warning looters in Malibu, the location of the Woolsey Fire, that they “will be shot on” sight — has gone viral. The photo, of armed men calling themselves the “PDC Posse,” some wearing bandanas or masks while waving guns, has been controversial. There are of course supporters (Second Amendment!), but many are rightly (nice bias there, Yahoo) questioning it.
“You’re willing to shoot to kill people over your material ‘valuables’?” one commenter wrote to the retired motocross star. “You sound like you’re actually dumber than the looters! I could see if you were protecting lives, but you have a gang of masked men with guns ready to kill over your insured possessions?!”
Pink, Hart and their two children were evacuated from their beachside home, which was spared during the fire. Generally, many residents who fled haven’t returned — and security systems aren’t working because there are power outages — so looters are taking advantage of the many multimillion-dollar mansions that are easy to gain access to.
Being in the thick of it gives a different perspective though. Shannen Doherty — who has been in Malibu to protect her house, which was spared, and help neighbors who weren’t as lucky (her friend’s home, where she was married, was charred) — posted an image on social media that was either the same or along those lines as Hart’s. She later deleted it after a similar debate broke out in the comments and apologized for sending the wrong message with a gun picture.
“If I offended anyone with my last post, which I deleted, I apologize,” the Beverly Hills, 90210 and Charmed actress said on her Instagram Stories. “I’m overly tired. I’m exhausted. I may not of used the best judgement.”
She continued, “Let me be clear — I do not like guns.I don’t like the idea that a bunch of people have guns. I don’t like the idea of shootings. I don’t like mass shootings. I also don’t like looters. And I don’t think it’s OK to pick through the remains of someone’s house. But I would also appreciate this not being turned into anybody’s political agenda. And please don’t assume you know what my beliefs or my politics are because you don’t. I keep those very private. I will say that I’m extremely stressed. I’ve been in Malibu trying to protect my house and checking on my neighbors and seeing many of my friend’s homes just completely destroyed.”
From New York City Patch: Two Brooklyn politicians want cops to examine New Yorkers’ online activity to prevent more hate-fueled tragedies like the Pittsburgh synagogue massacre. State Sen. Kevin Parker and Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams proposed legislation Friday that would incorporate social media accounts into background checks for gun buyers.
They argue doing so would help law enforcement authorities spot dangerous people like Robert Bowers, who reportedly declared his hatred for Jewish people online before allegedly killing 11 people last Saturday.
“You would have thought this person was a model citizen until you examined his social media profile,” said Adams, a Democrat. “And you would have noticed he was not a model citizen, he was a broken citizen that was a time bomb that was waiting to explode.”
The pair of bills would empower the New York State Police and local departments like the NYPD to checkthree years of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat activity for anyone applying for a gun license in New York, Parker said.
Authorities would flag anything that is an “immediate threat to public safety,” he said. Gun buyers would also have to let police comb through a year’s worth of their search engine histories under the legislation.
The state’s SAFE Act — known as one of the nation’s toughest gun laws — requires instant federal background checks for all gun sales except those between immediate family members. But lawmakers have to do more in the wake of recent hate crimes such as the Pittsburgh shooting, Parker said.
“We certainly want to make sure that we’re adding to the protections that we need to make sure that people that we’re putting handguns and rifles and shotguns in the possession, that they in fact are the people that are using them in the right way,” Parker said.
The syngagogue massacre, in which 11 people died, came just a day after federal authorities arrested Cesar Sayoc, the Florida man accused of mailing bombs to high-profile Democratic figures. Sayoc had searched for his targets’ addresses online, federal prosecutors allege.
Lawmakers are still working out exactly how law-enforcement officials would go about accessing social media profiles that are not publicly viewable, Parker said, though he noted the legislation would require gun buyers to make their profiles available.
“We’re going look at what’s in the universe already and use that as one of the tools to determine the profile of a person who’s attempting to purchase a handgun,” Adams said.
The legislation also would not cover more obscure social media sites such as Gab, on which Bowers reportedly signaled that he was going to carry out violence. But Parker said officials wanted to go after the “low-hanging fruit.”
“How much is it going to cost in human lives if we don’t start checking people’s social media and trying to get a good sense of their understanding?” Parker said.
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