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Faceplams: Jesus. Anyone know anything about this Sam Lutfi guy?
Vertiginous Member
Jesus. Anyone know anything about this Sam Lutfi guy?
RA-MEN ROPPAI
A little gossip, a little chat...Originally Posted by Vertigo
He's a leech. Apparently preys on "unstable" women: Britney Spears, Amanda Bynes, and this.
FATUM NOS IUNGET
And it continues... he's now filed a restraining order against his business manager.
Active Member
Poor Kurt is rolling in his grave
Trollhunter
Add Chris Hardwick to the list. This is painful.
https://medium.com/@skydart/rose-col...s-6be0594970ca
FATUM NOS IUNGET
No fucking way. Uuuuuuggghhh....
Administrator
Trollhunter
I enjoyed Midnight (a decent for what it was show that gave comedians a bit of a spotlight) but moreover, appreciated that he built Nerdist. I couldn’t give less of a shit about The Walking Dead, a poorly written shit show, so it’s pretty uninteresting seeing people talk about it.
I thought he was a good dude but was obviously very wrong.
I hesitate to head in this direction because to be perfectly honest, I don’t know the definitive answer and know some folks will attack but fuck it, I have always been willing to be open here, so:
Are there levels to this? Can some people (Dan Harmon comes to mind immediately), be forgiven if they acknowledge the huge mistakes made and pledge to be better moving forward? There was no sexual assault involved with Harmon and the person he wronged (former Community writer Megan Ganz) accepted his apology so I accepted that result too as a way forward.
I will never give Bill Cosby or Harvey Weinstein the same consideration. Sounds like Hardwick is pretty deep into No Forgiveness territory. What about Louis CK? He exposed himself to several female comedians and denied it for years despite this being the worst kept secret. He did apologize and disappear, but who knows if he will return. I’m leaning heavily toward, “No Forgiveness” but I also haven’t gotten rid of my stand up DVDs or Louie seasons 1 and 2. I haven’t watched them since but I think I needed this challenge to what I thought was a solid moral compass. What about Aziz Ansari? That’s a more complicated situation.
I have taken to looking at my own life and decisions as a result.
Listen, I’ve lost friends. Cut people out of my life for what I still think are valid reasons but I’m also still very shaken by those choices. How long before it’s just me? And I’m not perfect by any stretch but...I don’t know anymore.
So I am asking for help. For perspectives.
Last edited by Swykk; 06-15-2018 at 10:06 AM.
Active Member
I think what Aziz did, provided he makes positive change, is something I can move past with him. I think it was wrong, and I think it was assault, but I think many, many men have probably done something similar at some point. That's what I found so fucking frustrating about the Aziz thing, how normal it was kept people from realizing it was wrong. But like, we're not going to get anywhere if our only options are to decide someone is a monster or to excuse their behavior. There's so much shit between those two points.
I'd recommend you read a bit about restorative justice to see some paths forward for people who did awful things, but where it seems like parties involved can make a change. Also, I don't know if you talk to a therapist but there are some great apps for that these days. I think you struggle really hard with stuff like this sometimes, and with your connections with folks, so it might be helpful?
Trollhunter
I do see a therapist but he’s an older guy. I think some peer perspectives would be helpful too. Sorry to derail the thread but didn’t know where to place it as it relates to these headlines.
Active Member
I didn't find your post derailing! It just seems like you really struggle with this stuff sometimes, not just about this subject but like, worrying about how you treat people in general.
Here's a thing: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Restorative_justice <---- though I know in NYC communities people are usually just inept about that shit and make it worse.
Trollhunter
There is pain and struggle in trying to be the best version of yourself possible. At least that’s the only reality I’ve known!
Administrator
I think you have to look at a few factors here, especially in the instances of George Takei and Aziz Ansari regarding who you should cancel and who you should maybe press pause on before casting them aside. I mention the two of them intentionally and for the reasons below -
1. Both men have only had one accuser come forward about their behavior. Others like Weinstein, Spacey, Lauer, Louis CK, etc. have either had multiple accusers and/or multiple witnesses come forward to corroborate stories and claims.
2. In the case of George Takei, follow up interviews with the accuser yielded a changing story and interpretation of events. His accuser conceded that all he wanted was an apology for a night gone wrong. The claim about drugs was disputed by multiple medical experts since the accuser's claim about roofies didn't line up with the actual effects of roofies.
3. In the case of Aziz Ansari, you have the story of a man who crossed the line into sexual assault due to his misinterpretation of signals, even though the accuser's description of events would make it hard to understand why he received such signals. In the story itself, Aziz communicates an apology to the woman for his behavior and the way it made her feel. There has been zero reported follow up on this since the accusation came out. Side note: the writer at Babe.net did the accuser ZERO favors with the way they wrote the article and needed an editor badly because it had difficulty parsing out important details from insignificant ones.
I think Chris Hardwick is cancelled. Chloe details a long-term pattern of abuse that is sickening and all too familiar. She is also being corroborated by a few industry folks so expect the floodgates to open on Hardwick. Louis CK is cancelled because he tends to fall back on the Bill Clinton excuse of using the women he's helped prop up as a way to justify masturbating in front of them. He's plotting a comeback. Barf. Matt Lauer is cancelled solely because he had a fucking button installed in his office to lock the door from the outside. He's also plotting a comeback. Barf.
Active Member
I think the one reason Louis CK will persevere in his comeback unlike the others you mentioned is b/c his talent level is so high. How many people really give a shit about Chris Hardwick and Matt Lauer? WHat is so great about what they do? Nothing.
What CK did was disgusting, but he will continue to fall on his sword over it when he comes back into the public eye, and the fact that he is a master of his crafts (stand-up, writing, directing) means he will get more chances and people will pay attention. And I don't think that's my fan bias talking.
Aziz is already out doing small gigs here in NYC. I don't think there's a chance at all that he won't be back and do fine.
Active Member
I really like Chris Hardwick, so I'm already biased, and whatever my thoughts are on him now don't mean shit.
Okay, with that out there, here's what I think anyway: what his ex described sounds horrific, but having heard Hardwick describe himself and his behavior, I am having trouble seeing him as being that controlling of a person. I don't know him obviously. I'm just a fan who has listened to him a lot, so it's not as if I was owed 100% truth by him, but based on that, it is hard to see him as the person she describes. That said, it's obviously different when you are that intimate with someone, and she says she has physical proof of her claims, so it's hard to deny that she believes very strongly in what she has described. I would hope that, if it's true, he would be honest about it and receive the appropriate consequences, whatever they may be.
Last edited by BRoswell; 06-15-2018 at 01:24 PM.
Active Member
Never underestimate how much white men can get away with
Look at Mel Gibson, we heard him tell his wife that "a pack of n...s will rape" her because she was dressed like a slut and there were multiple voicemails that were all creepy and terrifying. And he had that whole separate "jews started all the wars" DUI incident... only to have him sit front row at the Oscars a few years later as a nominee.
That said, I wouldn't be upset if Hardwick goes away for good.
Administrator
Administrator
Not attacking you directly but this sentence and want to offer this counterpoint because I've seen this posted elsewhere - when you go into a job interview, do you talk about how you really are in person or do you talk yourself up as much as possible because you're trying to sell yourself in that situation?
There's a difference between a public persona and you.
Active Member
That's true. I'm at the point in my life where selling myself hasn't helped, so I do try to be as truthful as possible, but that's just me. Obviously a lot of people sell others on who they are without REALLY revealing themselves. I would hate for that to be the case here, but if that is THE truth, then I would have to accept it.
Throbbing Member
So tired of hearing about the Kardashians. They're the reason I don't buy magazines anymore. They ruined CNN, Rolling Stone and the NY Times for me. They pay publications and blogs to write about them. Every time you see an article about the Kardashians, it's actually an advertisement. I wish this stupid family would just go away already. Their 15 minutes of fame was up 5 years ago. No class. No talent. No education. Famous for nothing.
Member
I think 15 minutes was too much for them to begin with. I don't even think they're human. I consider them to be something worse than shit.
Throbbing Member
I know this is petty in the grand scheme of things, but as somebody who loves makeup and beauty products I hate what the Kardashians have done to the beauty industry. Everybody wants the same look they have - from the heavy contour and overlined lips to more permanent things like lip fillers and butt implants.
On one hand, you do you. If you like that look then go for it. But a lot of that makeup style does NOT look good on everyday wear. That style of makeup was first popularized in theater and drag shows for a reason - because it's stage makeup technique.
Anyway, most makeup companies sell product with that look in mind now, and most makeup "gurus" on Youtube and Instagram use that look in all of their videos. I'm bored to death of it, and I'm ready for the industry to find something new to glom onto so we can move past the Kardashian look.
Active Member
So apparently this year has been so tough on Logan Paul that he’s going to make a documentary of it.
https://trib.al/JY6dDBz
Trollhunter
@eachpassingphase And that look is “Vapid.”
Throbbing Member
I don’t think the look indicates somebody is “vapid”. I just think it’s overdone to the point where I’m bored and want makeup companies to stop catering to the look.
Active Member
@Swykk Why vapid?
@eachpassingphase -- full coverage makeup just doesn't wear well on people having a normal day. I'm on board with the rest of the makeup style, contouring and heavy brows and cut creases and all that are cool but full coverage makeup just... doesn't hold up on a human with skin that moves in the world. I totally agree as far as full coverage + baking being "normalized."
Though I think lip fillers are pretty cool as long as they're done correctly -- they're temporary!
Last edited by playwithfire; 07-08-2018 at 03:13 PM.
Trollhunter
I meant the Kardashians are vapid not those who use their products. Sorry I wasn’t very clear initially. I think they’re a bad example for humanity and I truly believe part of this anti-intellectualism “culture” we see these days was spotlighted if not birthed from reality television.
I am open to a different view but I have yet to hear one that makes sense.
The best I get is “You just don’t like reality TV.” It’s like they don’t hear or see the part where we ended up with a selfish vapid asshole reality TV guy as president. Or completely missed the cultural decline of the last 19 or so years. I remember Paris Hilton was kind of the first supposed hotttttt dumbass. It was never for me. Not just the shows but the people associated. See also: Jersey Shore.
I don’t have kids but I’d be bummed out if I had a daughter that idolized that family and thought less of herself if she didn’t look like they do (body wise). If it’s just the make up, fine I guess, I don’t know enough about make up to know if it sucks or not.
Are these reality stars adding anything good? I really do want to know. Not looking to fight.
Last edited by Swykk; 07-08-2018 at 04:27 PM.
Active Member
I don't get the hatred towards Scarlett. An actress playing a role which is not her in real life; more news at 11. The putrid hate campaign she's getting is extremely ridiculous, and rather disingenuous coming from the group who otherwise murders you for the slightest criticism towards them.
Active Member
Completely disagree.
Here's the thing that most cis people seem to be missing here (at least as far as I've seen, because for some reason this has really ruffled the feathers of people outside of the trans community). Scarlett Johansson is a woman playing a man. Generally, in modern times, that's not something that's done. To use an example I saw that I think explains this perfectly, no one would be ok with Will Smith playing Wonder Woman. It would be absolutely ridiculous, right? Because Will Smith is a man and Wonder Woman is not and, more importantly, it would be a man taking a role from a woman, and there aren't very many huge Hollywood movies where women are the main character (I'm talking comic book movies and the like).
These same people have absolutely no problem with Scarlett Johansson playing a trans man. Why? Because to them it's interchangeable. A trans man, in their eyes, is just a woman playing dress up. A trans woman is just a man playing dress up. Who cares if a woman is playing a man?
THAT is the problem here. That's transphobic. And it's entirely inaccurate. And it perpetuates the idea that trans people aren't really the gender they say they are, that it's all just a big game of pretend. That is a HUGE issue that the trans community deals with literally on a daily basis. I cannot tell you how many times I have seen people try to invalidate trans people by saying we're just playing dress up. Yeah, you can call yourself a woman but you're not a REAL woman. When I hear cis people defending this, all I'm hearing is, yeah, we're kind of allies but not really. When it comes right down to it we don't understand your identity and we don't really think it's valid. And that's gross and wrong
On top of that, she's taking a role away from an already marginalized community that is barely represented as it is. As some trans actors themselves have pointed out, it would be different if trans people were up for cis roles. But they're not. Trans people don't play cis people. Ever. Trans people play trans people. And that's in the rare instance where a cis person hasn't nabbed the role for themselves.
Active Member
glad to be a Kylie fan
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