TV Features
Meet America's Worst Couple: Sean Hannity and Ainsley Earhardt
While they have yet to confirm they're dating, inside sources have confirmed it, and it's too awful to not be true.
06.12.2020
Ainsley Earhardt's Facebook
Earlier this month Sean Hannity and Jill Rhodes—his former wife of more than 20 years—announced that they had divorced...more than a year ago.
Apparently their separation has been in the works even longer—with "amicable agreements" dating back to at least 2016. The couple issued an official statement claiming that they still have a close relationship and are "committed to working together for the best interests of their children." But the question remains, why—after keeping it such a closely-guarded secret for so many months—did the Fox News host and his ex finally decide to announce the end of their marriage?
Now, barely a week later, we have an answer that is too upsetting to be anything but the truth. Because, with the divorce public at last, rumors have begun to swirl about a new (or not-so-new) relationship between Sean Hannity, 58, and Fox & Friends host Ainsley Earhardt, 43.
<p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube">
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<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Bill O'Reilly Accuser Juliet Huddy Speaks Out | Megyn Kelly TODAY</small>
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Sd6EIja9WA" target="_blank">www.youtube.com</a>
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</p><p>As it turns out, Earhardt also got divorced last year, and she and Hannity have reportedly been dating "for quite some time." Considering <a href="https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/lawyers-allege-toxic-culture-racism-sexism-fox-news-beyond-oreilly-ailes" target="_blank">the disturbing sexual atmosphere at the Fox News</a>—where angry dark/gray-haired white guys pursue, harass, and sleep with younger, blonder white women (often <a href="https://www.mediaite.com/tv/pete-hegseths-rise-to-the-top-of-trumps-favorites-and-the-affair-that-almost-ruined-it/" target="_blank">while both parties are married to other people</a>)—it was only a matter of time before the two ended up in either in a relationship or in a lawsuit.<br></p><p><div id="ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-633"> </div>
<!-- End Ezoic - incontent1 - mid_content --></p><h4>The First Couple of Fox News</h4><p>In its report on the alleged romance, <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/06/scoop-sean-hannity-and-ainsley-earhardt-are-the-first-couple-of-fox" target="_blank"><em>Vanity Fair</em>'s <em>The Hive</em> dubbed Earhardt and Hannity "The first couple of <em>Fox News</em>"</a> (which must be the worst addition to a pleasant-sounding phrase since "four horsemen" became "of the apocalypse"). But that title denies them their far more prestigious honor, because Hannity and Earhardt are undoubtedly the worst couple in America.</p><p>You might think that's a category with some stiff competition, after all, <a href="https://www.popdust.com/elon-musk-and-grimes-welcome-baby-boy-2645922794.html" target="_self">Elon Musk and Grimes named their kid after an airplane</a>, and "Jarvanka" is still a thing. But <a href="https://www.popdust.com/grimes-new-song-lilpeep-2645128830.html" target="_self">Grimes gets a pass for making cool music</a>, and despite <a href="https://www.gq.com/story/kushner-too-much-testing" target="_blank">Jared Kushner's best efforts to serve up terrible advice</a>—and <a href="https://www.popdust.com/does-donald-trump-love-ivanka-1943578202.html" target="_self">President Trump's obvious crush on his wife</a>—he and Ivanka have not managed to be nearly as influential as the twin poles of <em>Fox News</em>' weekday schedule.</p><p><div id="ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-635"> </div>
<!-- End Ezoic - incontent2 - long_content --></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube">
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<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">The Trump-Fox & Friends feedback loop, explained</small>
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1d7UvKWh6M" target="_blank">www.youtube.com</a>
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</p><p>To put things in perspective, three hours of Donald Trump's morning, from 6:00-9:00, are devoted to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2019/oct/25/fox-news-watching-what-i-learned" target="_blank">receiving input and advice from the friends over at <em>Fox & Friends</em></a>—which has earned it the title of "<a href="https://www.gq.com/story/fox-and-friends-most-powerful-show" target="_blank">the most powerful show on TV</a>"—then, 12 hours of "<a href="https://www.axios.com/donald-trump-private-schedules-leak-executive-time-34e67fbb-3af6-48df-aefb-52e02c334255.html" target="_blank">executive time</a>" later, it's time for <em>Hannity</em>'s 9:00 PM hour of awfulness. Of course, this doesn't include the off-the-air counsel that Hannity provides in lengthy phone calls as President Trump's "unofficial chief of staff."<br></p><p><div id="ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-636"> </div>
<!-- End Ezoic - incontent22 - long_content --></p><p>Sadly, we can't know what goes on in those private calls—it's possible that the advice goes in the other direction, with Trump walking Hannity through the familiar process of leaving a wife for a younger woman. But as for what goes out on the air, we've already seen how the dynamic duo of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLAEAjRUI50" target="_blank">Earhardt and Hannity can team up to counter the spread of unflattering information</a> when, for instance, it comes out that the president wanted to fire the person investigating his (alleged) crimes.</p><p><div id="ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-637"> </div>
<!-- End Ezoic - incontent3 - longer_content --></p><p>Considering how often <em>Hannity</em> and <em>Fox & Friends</em> are directly addressed to their favorite viewer over in the White House—and how often <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1d7UvKWh6M" target="_blank">President Trump tweets along with them</a>—we can sift through some of what Hannity and Earhardt have said publicly to get a sense of how this power couple will combine forces to sway the fate of the country.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube">
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="ea55e6d6a0bcc87acd08112f39dd580d"><iframe type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tLAEAjRUI50?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">How Fox News opinion hosts contradicted their own journalist</small>
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLAEAjRUI50" target="_blank">www.youtube.com</a>
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</p><h4>How Bad Are They?</h4><p>Along with promoting conspiracies theories about <a href="https://www.gq.com/story/fox-news-seth-rich-conspiracy" target="_blank">Hillary Clinton having staffers assassinated</a> and selling uranium to Russia, Sean Hannity—who <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/hannity-offers-to-be-wate_n_190354" target="_blank">volunteered to be waterboarded for charity in 2009</a> to prove that it isn't torture and has yet to follow through—has decades of experience responding to current events through both radio and television, dropping jewels of wisdom such as:<br></p><p><div id="ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-638"> </div>
<!-- End Ezoic - incontent33 - longer_content --></p><p><strong>"Anyone listening to this show that believes homosexuality is a normal lifestyle <a href="https://fair.org/home/is-hannity-the-last-of-the-longtime-fox-stars-looking-for-the-door/" target="_blank">has been brainwashed</a>." (1989)</strong></p><p><strong>"Would you have allowed him to choose, you know, Hitler's Mein Kampf, which is the Nazi bible? In other words, where does this stop? Is there any limitations whatsoever?" (2006, on the topic of Islamic congressman Keith Ellison being sworn in with the Quran)</strong></p><p><strong>"<a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/sean-hannity/hannity-channels-onion-claims-liberal-halloween-teaches-kids-knock-other-peoples-doors" target="_blank">Halloween is a liberal holiday</a> … teaching kids to knock on other people's doors and ask for a handout." (2007)</strong></p><p><div id="ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-639"> </div>
<!-- End Ezoic - incontent4 - longest_content --></p><p><strong>"This scaring the living hell out of people—I see it, again, as like, <a href="https://www.vox.com/2020/3/20/21186727/hannity-coronavirus-coverage-fox-news" target="_blank">let's bludgeon Trump with this new hoax</a>," (March 9th, 2020 on "coronavirus hysteria")</strong></p><p>"<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/10/media/sean-hannity-george-floyd-comment/index.html" target="_blank">It's not the same thing to what happened to George Floyd</a>, but it's horrific. He was a victim of crooked cops." (June 9th, 2020, on the similarities between the FBI investigating Donald Trump and Derek Chauvin Killing George Floyd)</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube">
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<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Sean Hannity Speaks At A Trump Rally On The Eve Of The Midterm Elections | TIME</small>
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzskmXBGMz8" target="_blank">www.youtube.com</a>
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</p><p>Ainsley Earhardt, on the other hand, has not had nearly as lengthy a career in the punditry spotlight, only gaining national attention when she was made a <em>Fox & Friends</em> co-host in 2015. Nonetheless, in her relatively brief tenure she has already made some impressive headway in terms of spouting stunningly wrong nonsense:</p><p><strong>"If you're still counting votes after 10 days … <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trevor-noah-ainsley-earhardt-too-dumb_n_5bec0743e4b0783e0a1e48b5?ncid=engmodushpmg00000005" target="_blank">it kind of takes the fun out of election night</a>." (2018, on getting the Florida recount over with)</strong></p><p><strong> "<a href="https://www.elle.com/culture/career-politics/a22363294/ainsley-earhardt-fox-and-friends-donald-trump-americas-sweetheart/" target="_blank">All right, well, the president says it's fake news</a> ... It's something we have to tell you about because it is a headline in the <em>New York Times</em>. What do you think about that? Do you even care?" (2018, on the president trying to fire Robert Meuller as confirmed by <em>Fox</em>'s own news team)</strong></p><p><div id="ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-640"> </div>
<!-- End Ezoic - incontent44 - longest_content --></p><p><strong>"It's actually <a href="https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2020/mar/13/ainsley-earhardt/fox-friends-host-says-now-safest-time-fly-its-not/" target="_blank">the safest time to fly</a>." (March 13, 2020)</strong></p><p>So while it's too soon to say what the future may hold for this amazing couple of go-getter propagandists, it's clear that they're both titans in the field of flattering Donald Trump and making white boomers angry and afraid. With both of their divorces out on the table now, the "first couple of <em>Fox News</em>" is finally free to pursue a life together.</p><p>Will we see them together at Trump Rallies? Will they work together on a new show ranking the scariest brown people? Most exciting of all, given Earhardt recently told <em>People</em>, "I have frozen my eggs, so I am prepared if I decide to have more children," there could be<a href="https://www.popdust.com/elon-musk-and-grimes-baby-will-be-the-antichrist-2644631734.html" target="_self">another contender for the title of antichrist </a>in the works. Can't wait...</p>
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Film Features
Stop Turning Exclusively to White Movies for Comfort
Breaking down the bias of comfort films.
07.14.2020
With the constant onslaught of complicated news that 2020 has brought, sometimes you just want to be able to shut off your brain, relax, and feel happy.
Enter comfort films. These are the feel-good movies that feel like a warm hug when you finish them, the ones that allow you to escape for a short while. We often turn to these types of films in times of trouble or extreme stress, and when we're not sure what films of this nature we should watch, we turn to the Internet for options.
<p>And the Internet delivers. <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2020/05/14/comfort-movies-streaming-quarantine/" target="_blank">Numerous lists</a> of <a href="https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20200319-covid-19-comforting-films-to-watch-in-isolation" target="_blank">comforting films to watch</a> have been published across almost every major website since the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/mar/12/comfort-films-to-watch-while-self-isolating-coronavirus-ranked" target="_blank">start of the March</a>. These lists often include old classics like <em>Roman Holiday</em>, new classics like <em>13 Going On 30</em>, and soon-to-be classics like<em> About Time</em>. While the films featured on these types of lists vary across genres and time periods, there is one thing that all of these lists have in common: They are almost exclusively white, heteronormative films. </p><p><div id="ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-632"></div>
<!-- End Ezoic - undersecond12 - under_second_paragraph --></p><p>That is not to say that there is not any diversity. Gina Prince-Bythewood's directorial debut <em>Love and Basketball</em>, Alice Wu's recent Tribeca Film Festival award-winning film <em>The Half of It</em>, and Gurinder Chadha's star-making film <em>Bend it Like Beckham</em> make appearances on several lists. But by far, the majority of the films on these lists fall into a very specific bracket. </p><p><div id="ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-633"> </div>
<!-- End Ezoic - incontent1 - mid_content --></p><p><br></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzQ0OTQxMS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxMTQyMDE3OX0.9MXv_NuK2Sa_6CXEdUZXXu0srpuaHgAw8wum1Z0SEfc/img.jpg?width=980" id="c7dff" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="c8ac42836b2ff35650e815c1e8bd6477" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="Parminder Nagra and Jonathan Rhys Meyers in Bend It Like Beckham">
</p><p>But with the <a href="https://socialsciences.ucla.edu/hollywood-diversity-report-2020/" target="_blank">landscape of Hollywood changing</a> and the <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/live-updates-protests-for-racial-justice/2020/07/01/886025141/the-academy-of-motion-picture-arts-and-sciences-invites-more-women-minorities" target="_blank">Academy becoming more diverse</a>, does it really matter if a curated list of popular movies from the past reflects a history that we're already aware has some issues?<br></p><p>The answer is: Yes, very much so. </p><p>When curators, critics, and list makers hold up a largely white, heteronormative selection of films as definitive of any aspect of pop culture, their blind spot helps to maintain the inequitable status quo that currently exists in the film industry. If when a person wants to feel comforted, the sole type of content that they're encouraged to watch is one from a specific racial background or sexual identity, they will internalize that. These lists are curated for joy, and if joy is constantly centered on whiteness, on heteronormativity, on a very limited sense of identity, we are ignoring entire swaths of human beings and their experiences. </p><p><div id="ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-635"> </div>
<!-- End Ezoic - incontent2 - long_content --></p><p>Changing the dynamics of our media and, by extension, our society is not simply about recognizing the trauma of oppression on-screen. It is about seeing these communities' joy expressed through the medium as well. This is why <a href="https://nerdist.com/article/black-joy-movies-tv-shows/" target="_blank">lists of films that center black joy</a> are being created as additional material to engage with when learning how to be anti-racist. It is why there is a <a href="https://www.themarysue.com/subversive-power-lgbtq-happy-ending/" target="_blank">push for more happy endings in queer media</a>. We change the status quo not simply by telling new stories or by telling stories of oppression, but also by seeking out narratives of joy from communities whose voices have rarely been centered. </p><p><div id="ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-636"> </div>
<!-- End Ezoic - incontent22 - long_content --></p><p>The limited scope of so many Internet lists also implies that comforting content centering these communities does not exist, and that is simply not true. When films that feature marginalized communities only end up on lists for marginalized communities, it's clear that these identities are still considered an "other". By ignoring these films—films like <em>Coming to America, The</em> <em>Birdcage, </em>and <em>Hunt for Wilderpeople, </em>films that made people feel seen, films that inspired the media and the creators we rave about—these lists are just reproducing the same problematic paradigms of the past and erasing the value of important works of art. Creating better media systems requires reckoning with how we look at past content, too.</p><p><div id="ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-637"> </div>
<!-- End Ezoic - incontent3 - longer_content --></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzQ0OTQ0MC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzNzk0ODAxNX0.dUxYR5pvdzTLtbFrZF4n6QCVVB_x5yl51gSwHFoPUg4/img.jpg?width=980" id="8e330" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="727114542c442f743d81a897b4deb780" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="Julian Dennison in the woods in the film Hunt for the Wilderpeople">
</p><p><br></p><p>This does not mean you need to throw away these lists or stop watching <em>You've Got Mail</em>. But it does mean that you should reflect on what type of films you watch that center marginalized communities, and whether that encompasses what you watch when you want to feel good. Are you only watching Black trauma narratives or are you also watching romantic comedies starring Black protagonists when you've had a bad day? </p><p><div id="ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-638"> </div>
<!-- End Ezoic - incontent33 - longer_content --></p><h2></h2><h2></h2><h2></h2><p>It also means that curators, critics, and creators of lists should move beyond their personal comfort zones and learn to seek out films that speak to experiences other than their own. Because, as it turns out, a lot of those films spark joy, too.</p>
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CULTURE
In "8:46," Dave Chappelle Delivers His Most Powerful Performance Ever
"These are our people."
06.12.2020
Netflix
8:46—Dave Chappelle's newest special, surprise dropped on Youtube in the wee hours of the morning—isn't comedy.
The official caption below the video reads: "From Dave: Normally I wouldn't show you something so unrefined, I hope you understand," followed by a link to the Equal Justice Initiative.
<p>This is an unconventional performance, filmed outdoors in front of a small audience wearing face masks. The Covid-19 epidemic is still raging, after all. Chappelle astutely recognizes that as the first major comedy show since coronavirus hit the US, it'll go down in history books. He's right. If any piece of entertainment media is going to make it into history books pertaining to this period of social upheaval in America, trust it'll be <em>8:46</em>.</p><p><div id="ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-632"></div>
<!-- End Ezoic - undersecond12 - under_second_paragraph --></p><p>But not because it's the first comedy show since coronavirus. No, <em>8:46 </em>is going to go down in history because Dave Chappelle delivered a performance like few other people ever could. </p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube">
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="a5008e4bfcff2d9932551685b13c007b"><iframe type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3tR6mKcBbT4?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">8:46 - Dave Chappelle</small>
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<a href="https://youtu.be/3tR6mKcBbT4" target="_blank">youtu.be</a>
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</p><p>Chappelle is shaky on stage. He looks tired, fiddling with a notebook and a cigarette. "It's hard to figure out what to say about George Floyd, so I'm not gonna say it yet," he says. <br></p><p><div id="ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-633"> </div>
<!-- End Ezoic - incontent1 - mid_content --></p><p>So Chappelle switches gears, launching into a loose, conversational anecdote about the Northridge earthquake of 1994. He describes the experience of being caught unaware in an earthquake for the first time, floundering for his clothes, his weed, his money, and his keys, before ultimately relaying the terror of realizing that death was a distinct possibility. "That earthquake couldn't have been more than 35 seconds."</p><p><div id="ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-634"> </div>
<!-- End Ezoic - incontent11 - mid_content --></p><p>Then Chappelle pauses.</p><p>"This man kneeled on a man's neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds," says Chappelle, his voice raised, the conversational tone completely dissipated. He stands up. "Can you imagine that?"</p><p>What proceeds is a harrowing 20 minute sermon, wherein Dave Chappelle recounts his emotional response while watching the video of George Floyd's murder, and then outlines a series of other publicized murders of unarmed black men in America, from Eric Garner to Michael Brown to Trayvon Martin to John Crawford III to Philando Castile.</p><p><div id="ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-635"> </div>
<!-- End Ezoic - incontent2 - long_content --></p><p>"These are our people," he cries out in righteous anger as he rails against the NRA for their abject racism in not standing up for a licensed carrier, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-40357355" target="_blank">murdered in front of his girlfriend in his own car</a> during a minor traffic stop, for the "crime" of legally owning a gun while black.</p><p>As an almost entirely serious performance (the "<em></em>almost<em>"</em> being because Dave Chappelle jokes about Laura Ingraham being a "c*nt" and Candace Owens being a "rotten b*tch," neither of which are actually jokes) delivered by the single-best comedian alive today, <em>8:46 </em>is jarringly powerful. But Chappelle also recognizes his role within the larger cultural conversation, continually giving credit to the young people protesting on the front lines.<span></span></p><p><div id="ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-636"> </div>
<!-- End Ezoic - incontent22 - long_content --></p><p>"Do you want to see a celebrity right now? Do we give a fuck what Ja Rule thinks? Does it matter about celebrity? No. This is the streets talking for themselves."<br></p><h2></h2><p>In <em>8:46</em>, Dave Chappelle isn't just speaking for himself. Rather, he's lending his voice to a much larger issue in America. Slavery is not in the distant past, and black lives are constantly under assault by terroristic police. Enough is finally enough.</p><p><div id="ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-637"> </div>
<!-- End Ezoic - incontent3 - longer_content --></p>
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