Vee

It's a good statement, at least.

Today in "Not a Trump Quote":

Grain of salt per usual re: the Times.

Con stuff and Eric DaRe speaks:

John, why do literally every male and female pair of actors you see in a Google search end up being proposed as Liz's parents?

I lost interest when they got rid of Virginia (Dominique Jennings). Insane.

Thanks.

I vividly remember Erika talking in the press and on her website/newsletter both pre and post-PP revival about how bored she was being retired, and how she'd tried it after OLTL on ABC ended but decided to give it up, lol. She's just a born worker and she needs the activity. She's got such drive, it inspires and thrills me.

Red carpet premiere night. Some pix and recent interviews. I had no idea Maisie's IRL past was so rocky with her family. She's really been through a lot; just her getting to dye her hair seems like a big act of release. Isaac seems to be doing well despite his uni days getting off to a tough start early on. He's always been very grounded; I hope he keeps acting, he seems to regularly vacillate between continuing vs. committing to studying the sciences. Emilia's really gone through it all (sorry to repost the above article from upthread). Her comments in Kit Harington's interview (also below) are pretty candid as well - how they've both done dumb action tentpole films and come out the other side in their careers. I never felt either have been given enough credit for being good actors as well as iconic characters. It's the material in other projects that's failed them. I just hope Kit is getting his real life together, as he's been dogged by scandal. Lena Headey, Michelle Fairley and Richard Madden were to attend, but allegedly Lena and Fairley was ill; not sure about Madden.

The NYT walkback begins:

Erika Slezak just keeps holding it down! On top of that Jeff Daniels movie and her spot on The Resident, she's also guesting on Blue Bloods.

TP is now airing on Decades:

I mean, it's ancient dogwhistles dating as early as at least a century ago, it's understandable that people wouldn't get it at first. I don't want to believe Omar herself is an antisemite, and I agree with a lot of her politics. But I do think she's young, foolish and full of herself. I also think there is a longstanding problem with casual antisemitism on the left that is conflated with valid criticism of Israel in all the wrong ways.

Which networks?

It won't be the same without her, assuming that's final. I know the cast is behind her, which I can understand given their long understanding. I have little sympathy for Lori Loughlin's predicament, but I will miss Becky.

Well, it's a bit different - CBS/P&G didn't try to save their soaps.

From last month, but this is rough (note: not Justina Machado's twitter):

It will be a PR debacle if they say no. Ted Sarandos is already on record with an uncharacteristically personal farewell to ODAAT and vowing a commitment to 'telling those stories.' And Norman Lear - TV legend - has apparently appealed to him personally re: the CBS deal. To turn the old man and the show down after that public apologia will put him in a very bad spot. But they still might.

Will you ever learn to embed, John? @DRW50

He didn't, though. He forfeited his bond and quietly did community service. As for how it sets things back in terms of hate crimes we'll agree to disagree. IMO every case like this is more ammo which emboldens the right and pacifies the middle into 'hearing their side'. I'm just tuning most of it tbh. The Omar mess deeply upset me as a Jewish person on the left being lectured about antisemitism by leftists - most of whom weren't Jewish or even in the country. I'm taking a break for at least a few months til things settle a bit.

It will. The right wing capitalizes on these kind of frauds and laps them up, stores them away and trots them out any time any disadvantaged person or persons even remotely aligned to the left or liberal cases is attacked or wronged. It's been this way for decades and it doesn't matter if there's a direct or logical correlation or not. So the next time a gay kid is bashed by bigots or a person of color is shot by police or accosted by white supremacists, the first name on the MAGA cult's lips will be Smollett's. And more apolitical people in the middle (and there are too many of those) will give their baseless claims credence next time, because of Jussie's dumbass stunt. I haven't watched Empire in years either but I've seen this movie before and it's unforgivable to me.