Following news of Southern states in America passing a string of regressive abortion bans, numerous studios have spoken out about the idea of boycotting the state's film industry by refusing to film there.
Disney, Netflix, WarnerMedia and more are rumoured to be contemplating a ban on filming in states like Georgia, Alabama and Louisiana, and now Derry Girls creator Lisa McGee has added her opinion to the fray.
Speculation has emerged over the possibility of extending the boycott to Northern Ireland, which has some of the most strict reproductive healthcare laws in the world.
Famously, Northern Ireland has been used as a filming location for shows like Game of Thrones, and recently Derry Girls on Channel 4.
Abortion in the North is illegal in basically all circumstances, with no exceptions for cases of rape, incest or fatal foetal abnormalities.
A danger to the mother's life is an exception which is difficult to toe the line for, and practitioners as well as receivers of abortions face life in prison.
The creator of the hit comedy show, Lisa McGee, has given her opinion on the notion of a filming ban in the North.
I’ve been asked to comment on this issue so I will do it here.
While I completely agree that abortion law in Northern Ireland is horrific and a breach of human rights, and that the British government must intervene and take immediate action
"I’ve been asked to comment on this issue so I will do it here," McGee wrote on Twitter.
"While I completely agree that abortion law in Northern Ireland is horrific and a breach of human rights, and that the British government must intervene and take immediate action."
"To bring it into line with the rest of the UK, I don’t feel a boycott of our film and television industry is the answer," she continued.
to bring it into line with the rest of the Uk, I don’t feel a boycott of our film and television industry is the answer. The Northern Irish film and tv industry has been a light in the darkness. In a country where there is already little opportunity for
"The Northern Irish film and tv industry has been a light in the darkness. In a country where there is already little opportunity for young people it would only deprive them further.
"The fact that ultimately young Northern Irish women would suffer is depressing," she finished.
young people it would only deprive them further. The fact that ultimately young Northern Irish women would suffer is depressing.
Ariana Grande has some SERIOUSLY dedicated fans, who will back her up no matter what the circumstances are. Even if it means destroying a new song of hers to replace it with a slightly newer banger.
The Sweetener singer has proven herself to be a good sport, and now she's supporting a campaign against her own single (and pure BOP) 7 Rings.
The pop star's fans have randomly launched a movement called #Boycott7Rings in order to dethrone the song from the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, but not for the reason you think…
Basically, the 25-year-old singer has dropped track after track for her loving fans, and they want her latest single Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored to take the number one spot.
The song features on her new album (the second in six months) called Thank U, Next, and has some pretty controversial lyrics.
Some call it toxic femininity to encourage a man to break up with his girlfriend to get with her, others say it's just another incredibly catchy banger from our gal. Oh, and the video features the SEXINESS of Charles Melton.
If you're unfamiliar with Melton's work, he's basically one of the hottest lad on the Riverdale planet. And there are many of those, as we know.
Ari's fans are either sneaky or pure genius, we can't decide. It seems the singer herself is very open to the chart swap, throwing her support behind the campaign.
She wrote to Twitter; "Y'all are so insane and funny and I love you. Nothing's funnier than “boycott seven rings”….. I can’t. Whatever’s meant to be will be, babies. I ain’t going nowhere."
They really are insane. To be fair, the campaign is a total win-win for pop's reigning princess.
Fans begged her to tweet the hashtag, which she did but later deleted, writing, "Are you happy now?" We're guessing they were ecstatic.
An especially devoted fan is having a streaming party to block the song, to which Ariana replied:
"This is a wild time for us, do ur thing but also like how is this our problem right now …… what the f*ck." Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I’m Bored is 100 percent a stand-out hit from her new album, and the saucy music video is helping.
The gal can't escape the huge chart success, so we wish her our congrats. She deserves it with all those tunes she's dropping, and even got a Grammy out of it.
Gillette has made more than a few mortal, and almost exclusively male, enemies today after it debuted its brand new advert about toxic masculinity.
The ad is currently trending on Twitter, having clocked up three million views already on YouTube as well as 282,000 dislikes.
The two-minute clip opens up by showing men of varying ages and ethnicities staring into the mirror, before the narrator asking the question: 'Is this the best a man can get?', turning its former brand mantra on its head.
As the ad rolls on, it shows both negative and positive sides of supposedly 'masculine' behaviour, from bullying and harassment, sexual misconduct, 'mansplaining' and violence, to men standing up for sexual violence victims and acting as excellent father figures.
The video faces the Me Too movement head on as a brand which has a predominantly male audience, and regularly aimed its former ad campaigns at gruff, typically 'masculine' men.
Many viewers felt that the advert accepted its vital responsibility in speaking to their target audience, considering men have been notoriously at the heart of sexual assault allegations.
One especially poignant part of the clip shows Terry Crews speaking out about sexual assault, crucially standing up for both male and female survivors and their Bill of Rights.
WATCH – @terrycrews full opening statement: "I am honored to use my platform and story to help create additional civil rights protections for survivors across the nation under the Sexual Assault #SurvivorsBillofRights."
On the one hand, Gillette's message slightly missed the mark by tarring an entire gender with mostly the same brush, though it did show varying 'types' of men. Some say the advert is capitalising on the #MeToo Movement, others say it's complete chastisement.
The reception has been extremely mixed, with some of the target audience (all men) wanting to go as far as boycotting the brand forever, and others praising it immensely.
One infamously vocal *cough* vile *cough* public figure to comment on it is, of course, Piers Morgan.
I've used @Gillette razors my entire adult life but this absurd virtue-signalling PC guff may drive me away to a company less eager to fuel the current pathetic global assault on masculinity.
Let boys be damn boys.
Let men be damn men. https://t.co/Hm66OD5lA4
The deplorable King of 'Boys will be boys' rhetoric himself has been arguing with members of the public ALL THE LIVELONG DAY on Twitter, claiming man-hating 'feminazis' are waging a war against men through advertising. As if advertising in essence isn't inherently waging a war against women. But whatever.
(Let it be clear: Anyone who equates feminism with man-hating has absolutely zero notion of what feminism means. Feminists hate the patriarchy, not men themselves. They are two different things. Thus ends the public announcement services for today)
Gillette: Men, could you please be the best versions of yourselves and care for yourself and others
Why has the advert received such an angry response?
Many viewers believe that Gillette's efforts have created a video full of preaching, which isn't totally untrue. The video may have missed the mark with it's tone, after all, women know all about what condescension feels like.
We experience patronising behaviour on a daily basis in the workplace, among other settings. It never teaches us the lesson it's attempting to, which for me is the main problem with the ad.
I mean, the clip showing a line of men, standing behind BBQs with smoke wafting up from their grills, reciting “boys will be boys will be boys will be boys"? It's a bit obvious.
That being said, the ad didn't even show the worst aspects of the patriarchy, the worst of the predators, the horrors many women face every single day. It didn't even go that far when we think about it from this perspective, but yet thousands are saying it went more than far enough.
However, the ruthlessly aggressive response by some users to the video clip, in one way, reiterates the point.
While I don't believe all men (or women) should be tarred with the same brush, I do believe that the defensive backlash shows the toxicity of the defensive feminist-fearing aggressive male dialogue.
Today, all the men in Britain who insist that everyone else is snowflakey, over-sensitive and thin-skinned will be crying about an advert that is not scheduled to appear on British TV. Just a heads up. #Gillette
Like many women and men have said, only those who have done something wrong should be afraid of the Me Too era.
By becoming an ally for sexual assault survivors, by proving you believe in equality, by acknowledging the pain which survivors of sexist behaviour and sexual violence have undergone, by lifting up women and minorities such as the LGBT+ and trans communities; only then will society believe that you aren't part of the problem.
It's time for a lot of men to stand up and prove themselves; just because you haven't done anything wrong in the past doesn't mean that you can't stand up for what's right when it matters. And in today's Me Too society, it really matters.
Seeing a massively popular brand attempt to start a conversation is encouraging for most of us, despite the fact that the ad was overdone and the tone was slightly missed.
The male demographic clearly felt attacked by the ad (um, hello, EVERY MEDIA ADVERT makes women feel like sh*t about ourselves so now you understand how it feels) despite the fact that it was arguably trying to encourage them to better themselves for their own benefit.
Let's not forget that toxic masculinity is harmful to men as well as women. While men are the perpetrators of 90% of violent crime in America, they are also 70% of the victims of violent crime. They are also four times more likely to commit suicide.
By facing the aggression and violence inherent in society, men find gain too, yet so many of them are too angered by the ad to see that it isn't trying to attack them personally.
Hate speech by Gillete. Manly Alpha males rule. Pansy betas are actually misandrists and thats who this ad is supporting. #BoycottGillette
President of Procter & Gamble, owners of Gillette, stated that;
"By holding each other accountable, eliminating excuses for bad behaviour, and supporting a new generation working towards their personal 'best,' we can help create positive change that will matter for years to come."
No doubt Gillette anticipated a backlash to the clip, but all publicity is good publicity as the saying goes.
Gillette better be careful or it’ll suffer the same financial fate Nike did when it made rightwingers mad. pic.twitter.com/8ELvdwVDgF
Gillette has collaborated with the Building A Better Man project, which aims to reduce violent behaviour in men, and The Boys and Girls Club of America, which helps young men develop better communication skills.
The company is also donating $1m a year to US charities who work to support men over the next three years.
It has to be said that their efforts deserve praise, since #MeToo began there has been a shocking amount of defensive commentary from groups of men as opposed to constructive conversations and support for women and minorities suffering at the hands of the patriarchy.
Gillette has rarely found itself in the midst of controversy, but today everyone is talking about them.
After her outburst during the week, Jada Pinkett Smith has thanked Oscars president Cheryl Boone Isaacs.
The president of the awards admitted to being "heartbroken and frustrated" by the all-white nominations, which were announced this week.
Jada made a very public video and promised to boycott the award show next month, but Cheryl had a very quick response and insisted that the organisation is going up for a review.
Mrs Pinkett Smith then took to social media saying: "I would like to express my gratitude to the Academy, specifically Cheryl Boone Isaacs, for such a quick response in regard to the issue at hand. I look forward to the future."
Jada's husband, Will Smith was hoping for a nomination for his role in Concussion, but didn't make the final five. Will's ex-co-star, Janet Hubert, who played Aunt Viv in The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, also spoke out yesterday about Jada's public video.
Kim Kardashian’s step-brother Brody Jenner will NOT be going to her wedding – and we can’t believe the reason why!
Brody’s girlfriend of seven months, Kaitlynn Carter is not invited to the bash, so he’s not going either.
Stroppy teenager style!
Kim is apparently not the biggest fan of Brody’s ‘plus one’ and told him in no uncertain terms that he could either come by himself, or not at all.
Harsh!
The Hills’ star’s brother and sister-in-law, Brandon and Leah will still be there. As will step-dad Bruce, who’s set to walk Kim down the aisle…again.
But Brody has chosen to huff at home and miss out on the wedding of the century – which is sure to spell big trouble ahead for the Kardashian-Jenner household.
