Madonna is no stranger to controversy, but it doesn't typically involve her children. The Material Girl shared an Instagram picture of her son Rocco Ritchie holding a bottle of gin on Saturday, Jan. 4. Taken in the Swiss Alps, the snapshot also shows the 13-year-old surrounded by two vodka bottles.RELATED: Jenny McCarthy Slams Rumor That Her Son Evan Was Misdiagnosed With Autism: It's "Irresponsible and Inaccurate"
"The party has just begun! Bring it! 2014," Madonna, 55, captioned.
The legal drinking age in the United States is 21 years old, and in Switzerland, it's 16 years old. The picture generated more than 1,200 comments in less than 24 hours. "Booze is not something to make jokes about. Period!" one user wrote. Another Madonna fan cautioned, "You gotta know what kind of signals it sends not only to her son, but also to kids around the world."
Some fans came to the family's defense, however. "Rocco is adorable and I think it's really cool that Madonna, and her family, post any pics. Madonna may be a worldwide icon, but she is human like the rest of us," another user reminded the singer's critics. "The picture is what it is. Let it be. Don't speak."
The "Superstar" singer addressed the backlash herself on Sunday, Jan. 5. "No one was drinking we were just having fun! Calm down and get a sense of humor!" Madonna wrote in another Instagram caption. "Don't start the year off with judgement!"
During a 2012 appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Ritchie said Madonna runs a tight ship. "She's a good mother. Yes. That's all I have to say," he revealed. "She's very strict, but in a good way."
The Duck Dynasty controversy continues.RELATED: Charlie Sheen calls ex-wife ‘heartlessly ugly’
Charlie Sheen is now slamming Phil Robertson for his anti-gay views. Sheen took to Twitter on Sunday to address the patriarch, who has been under fire for his anti-gay remarks.
Writes Sheen:
"hey Mallard brained
Phil Robertso!
you have offended and hurt so many dear friends of mine,
who DO NOT have the voice or the outreach that I do. ....
your statements were and are
abhorrently and mendaciously unforgivable.
the idea that you have a job
outside of dirt-clod stackingis a miracle.
the only 'Dynasty' you are attached to might be the
re-runs of that dated show."
Meanwhile, Robertson, who issued a statement standing by what he said in GQ, is staying true to himself. The reality show star and church elder led a small Bible study group in his West Monroe, La., church on Sunday, and the MailOnline was there.
Robertson defended himself and declared, 'I will not give or back off from my path," reports the site. He also noted that this is not the "first time" he has given his views on sin. And he added, "I love all men and women. I am a lover of humanity, not a hater."
After his Bible study group, Robertson joined the rest of the congregation for a church service. Robertson's son, Alan, led part of the proceedings and made reference to the attention the family has been getting. "Well we've had a quite a quiet week, shot some ducks, done some shopping, ignited a national controversy," he said.
RELATED: Dennis Rodman In North Korea 'To Open Doors For America'The group that slammed Jennifer Lopez for performing in front of a dictator earlier this year is setting its sights on fellow pop star Maria Carey.
The Human Rights Foundation slammed Carey for a weekend performance for the Angolan Red Cross, claiming the event raised little cash for the cause but helped prop up a dictator and his repressive regime.
Mariah Carey can't seem to get enough dictator cash, reportedly more than $1 million dollars this time. Just five years ago she performed for the family of Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi. Now, she goes from private performances to public displays of support and credibility for one of Africa's chief human rights violators and most corrupt tyrants," said HRF president Thor Halvorssen in a statement. "It is the sad spectacle of an international artist purchased by a ruthless police state to entertain and whitewash the father-daughter kleptocracy that has amassed billions in ill-gotten wealth while the majority of Angola lives on less than $2 a day," said Halvorssen.
Angolan leader Jose Eduardo dos Santos's daughter runs the Angolan Red Cross and owns the mobile company that sponsored the concert.
Carey eventually apologized for the Gaddafi concert appearance.
This weekend, the foundation quotes Carey paying tribute to the Angola leader--"I am happy to be here in this room and I am honored to share this show with the President of Angola."
I'm annoyed that so many Hollywood celebrities hate the system that made them rich.
Actor/comedian Russell Brand told the BBC he wants "a socialist, egalitarian system based on the massive redistribution of wealth."
Director George Lucas got rich not just from movies but also by selling Star Wars merchandise. Yet he says he believes in democracy but "not capitalist democracy."
Actor Martin Sheen says, "That's where the problem lies ... It's corporate America." And so on. On my TV show, actor/author Kevin Sorbo pointed out that such sentiments make little sense coming from entertainers. "It's a very entrepreneurial business. You have to work very hard to get lucky, mixed with any kind of talent to get a break in this business. I told Clooney, George, you're worth $100 million -- of course you can afford to be a socialist!"
It's bad enough that celebrities trash the only economic system that makes poor people's lives better. What's worse is that many are hypocrites.
Celebrities who support big-government politicians routinely take advantage of tax breaks, which reduce the amount they contribute to that government.
It's nice that Obama supporter Bon Jovi has a foundation that builds houses for poor people, but at tax time, the musician labels himself a "farmer." He pays only $100 in state property tax. And his tax dodge gimmick: raising honeybees.
Bruce Springsteen sings about factories closing down but pays little tax on the hundreds of acres of land he owns. His dodge: An organic farmer works his land. Hollywood's campaign to "save the earth" brings out the most hypocrisy.
Actor Leonardo DiCaprio recently announced, "I will fly around the world doing good for the environment."
Really? Flying around the world?RELATED: Yep: Dennis Rodman’s next basketball diplomacy trip to North Korea still a go
I'm amazed they're not embarrassed by what they say. Maybe they don't know how clueless they are because reporters rarely confront them about their hypocrisy.
This week, Time magazine named Miley Cyrus a finalist for Person of the Year, the annual award bestowed on the person editors think has "most affected the news and our lives, for good or ill, and embodied what was important about the year." A true testament to the global influence of twerking, she was the only nominee from the entertainment industry.
Her co-nominees included Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, President Obama, Pope Francis, and gay rights activist Edith Windsor.The pope was the winner, but one thing's for certain: Miley Cyrus makes an impact. Regardless of whether you care about her latest performance or haircut or provocative, eyebrow-raising declaration to the press, it's likely you'll have heard about it. In part, that's owing to her affinity for ever-media-friendly shock, delivered in the form of a raunchy, nudity-filled music video; a raunchy, nudity-filled photo shoot with photographer Terry Richardson; and a raunchy awards show performance that likely would have contained some nudity had it been allowed. It did, however, contain a foam finger and a latex bodysuit. And a tongue that was a performer of its own.Shocking behavior isn't uncommon in the entertainment industry, and especially in music. Shock, like sex, sells. But it's quite possible Cyrus isn't selling just shock, and albums. She's also selling drugs.Earlier this year, Miley ended months of speculation that one of her song lyrics referred to "Molly," the nickname for psychedelic drug MDMA, or a form of Ecstasy. When she was asked if she was referring to her own name or the drug Molly in the song "We Can't Stop," she told The Daily Mail, "If you're aged 10, it's 'Miley.' If you know what I'm talking about, then you know."In September, she offered a second endorsement, telling Rolling Stone that marijuana and Molly are "happy drugs -- social drugs. They make you want to be with friends."What effect might the former Disney star's drug advocacy have on the legions of tween and teen fans who follow her every move?A 2008 study looking at the influence of technology, media and pop culture on criminal behavior concluded that while young people are influenced by pop culture, and more so than adults, it was difficult to empirically study the cause and effect of pop culture on their behavior.And certainly, the glorification of vice in music is not at the hands of Miley Cyrus alone: A 2008 study out of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and published in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine found that 33% of the top 300 songs on the top of the Billboard charts portrayed drug or alcohol use -- an increasing number of them pop songs -- which means that kids receive about 35 references to substance abuse for every hour of music they listen to.That said, what we do know: Exposure to excessive violence in video games can increase aggressive attitudes, behaviors and values, particularly in children. And adolescent exposure to music, a powerful social force often linked to identity, memories and mood, is much more frequent than it is to any other form of pop culture.According to the Pittsburgh School of Medicine study, most teens listen to an average of 16 hours each week of music, compared with about six hours each week for movies. Perhaps more than any other entertainment medium, the study authors wrote, "music is well known to connect deeply with adolescents and to influence identity development."And so it's hard not to argue that Molly is likely reaping the benefits. The numbers are there: A 2010 National Survey on Drug Use and Health found that 12.4% of Americans between 18 and 25 had experimented with MDMA, while a report released last week by the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration stated that emergency room visits related to MDMA increased 128% between 2005 and 2011 among people younger than 21.
RELATED: Cher: Thanksgiving is 'the beginning of a great crime'Cher routinely attacks conservatives with hateful language via her Twitter account, so when she blasted former Gov. Sarah Palin as a "dumb c-word" it was hardly a surprise.
Turns out one of Cher's children wished his mother hadn't debased the political debate with such attacks.
Elijah Blue Allman, the son of Cher and southern rocker Gregg Allman, apologized on behalf of mom via Twitter this week. He addressed the apology to Palin, her daughter Bristol Palin and the governor's brother, Chuck Heath, Jr.
I'd like to apologize to the Palin Family for the ugly remarks &love
ABC announced on Monday that weatherman and global warming alarmist Sam Champion will be leaving the network for the Weather Channel. Champion has developed a long history of the most hyperbolic predictions about climate change. Additionally, the ABC personality has promoted bizarre environmentalists such as No Impact Man, an activist who shunned toilet paper.2. "Will Billions Die from Global Warming?"
On February 8, 2008, Champion ridiculously asked Good Morning America viewers, "Could global warming one day force us into space to live?" On June 25, 2007, the weatherman promoted Colin Beavan, the anti-toilet paper No Impact Man. When his ABC colleagues expressed skepticism, Champion reassured Chris Cuomo that the host could keep "your toilet paper," but didn't mention the rest of the country. Here are the top five most obnoxious examples of Sam Champion's environmental extremism:
5. Let's Celebrate Living in Filth
4. News Challenging Global Warming "Not Reportable as Such."
3. Save the Planet: Boycott Toilet Paper!
Most women will tell you that other than the N-word, the C-word is the most vile in the English language never to be used.
Cher apparently doesn't hold such a belief, for she disturbingly took to Twitter Friday to call former Alaska governor Sarah Palin a "Dumb C Word":
Three minutes later she put an exclamation point on it:
Looking at her timeline, I can find nothing that provoked or precipitated this attack.
I guess Cher just woke up Friday thinking she needed to grotesquely attack - without any reason apparently - a former vice presidential candidate in front of her almost 2 million followers.
Alas, this wasn't the first time the singer has publicly defamed Palin.RELATED: Here Are All the Times the Media Has Apologized to Sarah Palin
In 2010, she told Vanity Fair, “I got so obsessed with [C-SPAN] that it was kind of interfering with my life. Sarah Palin came on, and I thought, Oh, f---, this is the end. Because a dumb woman is a dumb woman.”
Now, three years later, she's added the C-word.
I wish someone would explain to me what Palin has done to turn so many women into hateful, foul-mouthed morons.
CONTROVERSIAL comedian Russell Brand has admitted to having sex with a man in a bar toilet, purely for a television show.
Brand made the confession to fellow comic Richard Herring during a podcast interview.
Brand told how he performed the act as it was filmed for a TV documentary series when he was a heroin addict.
He said: "I w***** off a man in a toilet. I thought, ‘I think of myself as heterosexual but perhaps that’s ‘cause of the environment that I grew up in where homosexuality may have been difficult for me to express.’”
The show - called RE:Brand - was aimed at exploring social taboos, said Brand.RELATED: Katy Perry on Russell Brand Divorce: I Felt "Punched," "Kicked," "Was in Bed for Two Weeks"
"I trawled around Soho going to various gay bars, gay gyms trying to pick people up with a film crew.
"I went in this pub and I goes: ‘Anyone want me to w*** them off?’ And this bloke goes, ‘Yep’. Like as if I was saying: ‘Does anyone want a packet of crisps from the bar.’"
He said: "So we goes to the lavvy - me, him, the director - and he gets his willy out. And it was not nice. The phallus is... I like mine and you see some others in paintings that look all right but his looked like a rag.
"And we're in the toilet with the director standing there filming me and he goes, ‘I think it would be easier if I was able to touch yours’. I thought ‘F****** hell mate, do us a favour!’ And the director goes: 'Go on Russell it would be funny.’
"So I take down my trousers and pants and then the bloke sort of mauled at my genitals while I w***** him off."
Brand, of course, has battled both sex and drug addiction. He’s currently said to be dating Jemima Khan, ex-wife of cricketer, Imran Khan.
This feud is long past the Jersey Shore.RELATED: Christie’s debate comeback is his Bush moment
Reality TV star Jenni "JWoww" Farley is taking Gov. Chris Christie to task for his views on gay marriage.
In an exclusive interview with the New York Daily News, Farley 27, says, "I'm going to come after you."
"If you have a problem with two people being in love, and you're against gay marriage, I have a problem with you," says Farley.
"What happens between two human beings has nothing to do with Chris Christie and does not affect Chris Christie," she adds. " What does affect me is when my best friend can't get married in New Jersey, and my best friend's mother, who is a lesbian, can't get married."
The former "Jersey Shore" star is promoting the third season of "Snooki & JWoww," her spinoff with Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi.
This isn't the first spat between Christie and a "Jersey Shore" cast member. Christie has never hidden his disdain for the show, saying it portrays the Garden State in a negative light. But Farley says she forgives him for that.
"The problems that he had with me, Nicole, Vinny (Guadagnino), Pauly (Delvecchio), I've put that aside," says Farley. "He's a politician, he's able to grant these wishes for people in love. Your personal opinion should have no effect on other people's love lives, especially if you're in a position of power."
Earlier this month, Farley apologized for calling Christie "retarded" for his stance on gay marriage.
She later clarified the context of her remarks via Twitter.
"Caught off guard last night and said things I normally don't say. I find it disgusting people are still against gay marriage...," she wrote. "So because of that I called [Chris] Christie a name which wasn't appropriate. I do find him disgusting and judgmental. I'm for gay equality."
A state Superior Court judge denied a request Thursday by Christie's administration to delay the Oct. 21 start date for gay marriages in New Jersey until its appeal is over.
When confronted by a diner patron during a campaign stop in Edison earlier this week, Christie had this to say, on the matter, "My view is: If you want to change it, put it on the ballot. Let everybody decide. It shouldn't be decided by courts, it shouldn't be decided by politicians in Trenton."
Matt Lauer didn't go easy on Miley Cyrus when she appeared and performed during Today on Monday, Oct. 7. The co-anchor asked the pop star about everything from her risqué photo shoot with Terry Richardson to her war of words with Sinéad O'Connor—and Cyrus maintained her composure throughout the interview.RELATED: Sinead O’Connor Demands Apology From Miley Cyrus
The TV journalist began by asking Cyrus about the constant controversy surrounding her name. "Are you surprised by the attention you're getting right now?" Lauer asked.
"Not really," the singer shrugged. "I mean, it's kind of what I want. I'm an artist, so I'm hoping that I get a little attention or my record sales might be a little sketch."
Lauer then asked Cyrus if her now-infamous MTV Video Music Awards performance was intentionally meant to shock viewers. "I don't ever really plan to offend people, but sometimes that just happens because I think people, they're not open to what they don't understand," the performer said. "But that's why when I'm singing for my fans, because they're all really young so they understand what I'm doing."
"Did it go exactly as you planned?" Lauer asked.
"It went exactly as I planned," Cyrus, 20, answered. "I mean, it's a month later and we're still talking about it, so it definitely went as planned."
"We talked about the performance, and obviously a lot of it was very provocative. I'm never going to go to a sporting game and look at a foam finger the same way...Add to that some of the photos I've seen of your recently on the internet. You had the naked shot on the video for 'Wrecking Ball.' It's very clear that you are...attempting to navigate tricky territory right now," Lauer said. "A lot of people have tried this in the past between child star and adult performer. Is it harder than you thought it would be?"
A confident Cyrus replied, "Nah, because this is just, like, who I am. I think it's only hard if you're trying to be something you're not. Being who you are is really easy if you're really true to that."
Lauer, 55, continued to grill the former Hannah Montana star, asking, "Is this a phase? Is the sexual side of you that we're seeing a lot of right now something that's going to be around for a while and then you move onto something else?"
Liam Hemsworth's ex-fiancée seized the opportunity to make a joke at Lauer's expense. "I heard when you turn 40, things start to go a little less sexual," she began.
"Don't say that," Lauer said with a smile.
"Probably around that time, I heard that's when people don't have sex anymore," Cyrus continued. "I guess maybe around then." Lauer then asked, "Do you know how old I am?"
Grinning from ear to ear, Cyrus responded, "I'm gonna guess 40." Lauer then asked Cyrus if she would do anything differently given the opportunity. "You can't change anything about it. I do a lot of things, but I can't change the past," she explained. "If I can't control it, I don't really think about it. I just live my life and I don't really think about anything."
Remember that “I Pledge” video produced by Oprah Winfrey’s production company after President Obama took office in 2009?It features a gaggle of celebrities telling viewers all the good they promise to do for humanity. But toward the end, it drifts into a pledge of support for Obama — the kind of rhetoric that befits a political convention spot as opposed to a public service message.Red Hot Chili Peppers lead singer Anthony Kiedis says, “I pledge to be of service to Barack Obama,” kissing his biceps in the process.After a number of other celebs staring invoking their intentions to “be the change” (sound familiar?), Demi Moore finishes things by saying, “I pledge to be a servant to our president.”For some reason the Hudson (Wis.) School District unearthed the “I Pledge” video for its middle school’s Peace One Day event a few days back, and a number parents in attendance were outraged.District and school officials made a quick backpedal, apologizing to those offended by the video, reports KMSP-TV.“The reason the video was used was to show students small ways to make a difference in their communities,” the district wrote in its apology. “Unfortunately, the video also had a political slant. The district is non-partisan and does not endorse the political messages found in this video. This video will not be used in the district again.”Middle School Principal Dan Koch this announcement to students Thursday afternoon:“The ‘I Pledge’ video we viewed yesterday included some messages about serving President Barack Obama. We apologize for any part of the video that was offensive to students, their families and staff. The video conveyed a message that people serve the presidency when in fact our elected officials serve the people. We respect the Office of the President of the United States but like all of our other elected officials, that office serves each of us as well. I sincerely hope that as participants in Wednesday’s event what you took away from the experience was to choose to make a difference in your world.”
The district wouldn’t disclose whose idea it was to show the “I Pledge” video to students, KMSP reports, but people on the streets weren’t thrilled by offering the video’s message to middle schoolers.
“It looks a little 1940s Germany,” says one interviewee, who agrees that its essentially propaganda. Another adds, “It doesn’t seem right.”
He’s a real Prince of a guy.
Giants starting cornerback Prince Amukamara said in an interview with Muscle & Fitness that he’s never had a drink in his life and he remains a virgin. A devout Catholic, Amukamara said he has been called “the black Tim Tebow” by peers.
“I grew up Catholic, so it just started out as one of those things,” Amukamara told the magazine. “I’d think, ‘If I do this, maybe I can get to heaven,’ so I said no drinks, no sex, all the big things. As I grew up, I realized that’s not what it’s about. It’s about having a relationship with Jesus. It’s not about ‘Don’t do this.
Don’t do that.’ But still, it’s just one of those things I haven’t done, and I don’t see any benefit to doing it.”
Amukamara, 24, said he told his fiancé Pilar Davis that he might have his first alcoholic beverage at his bachelor party, but he’s not sure.RELATED: Talking Music, Saget and Losing Your Virginity With John Stamos
The two met at a New York City nightclub SL two years ago and Amukamara was “drawn to her,” but hesitant about actually making a move. He had to be spurred on by then-teammates Corey Webster and Aaron Ross to strike up a conversation.
“They were like, ‘Go say something to her!’” Amukamara said. “And they were cheering me on. She thought we were all rowdy and drunk and she didn’t pay us any attention. Then, later, I was waiting for Ahmad [Bradshaw] and she came by and we struck up a conversation. I asked her for her e-mail address because when someone asks for your number, it might be too personal and you might not want to give it. But if you ask for their e-mail address, they’ll give it. I was right.”
Amukamara, who is of Nigerian descent, still goes out clubbing with friends and teammates, though he doesn’t partake in drinking. He says he enjoys dancing and gets “high off of everyone else’s high.”
As far as women, the third-year player out of the University of Nebraska doesn’t even tell them he’s a football player. When he meets a girl, he claims to be a construction worker. And he told Davis when they met that he was a manager at the Gap.
“She’s from Sacramento, and if you remember [two years agp], we had to go to San Francisco to play them for the conference championship, so if I wanted her to visit me while I was out there, I’d have to tell her what I did,” Amukamara said. “So two days later, I said ‘Hey, I play for the Giants.’ She thought I meant San Francisco Giants. That’s when I thought she might be a keeper.”
First came the twerking and the sledgehammer, then, at the weekend, we saw the first real indication that Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth were done and dusted — she unfollowed him on Twitter.RELATED: Arrogant much? Miley Cyrus says she's 'taking over the world'
Now, a source close to the on-again, off-again couple confirms what everyone has feared: The ex-Disney starlet and her Australian hunk are officially “on a break.”
“They’ve split for now,” the insider told RadarOnline.com. “Miley and Liam have a very tumultuous relationship and both are exhausted. It’s a complicated relationship. The wedding is on hold, for now. It’s not cancelled but it doesn’t look promising.”
Confirmation of the split comes after a report that Hemsworth, 23, was canoodling with another woman at the Toronto Film Festival.
According to Page Six, the Hunger Games star was “locking lips with a random brunette” at LDV Hospitality’s pop-up club Bungalow 8 on the Thompson Hotel rooftop on September 7. Later, “they left together.”
A rep for Hemsworth has insisted: “There is no truth whatsoever to any of this.”
But as we previously reported, Hemsworth’s frustrations with his partner of almost four years have been bubbling since her controversial performance alongside Robin Thicke at the MTV VMAs.
“Liam really does care about Miley, but her racy new look and sort of ghetto attitude isn’t exactly what he signed up for,” a pal told Radar.
“Her VMA performance absolutely mortified him and he couldn’t be more embarrassed. He doesn’t really see anything sexy about what she did on stage.”
Complicating matters, those in Hemsworth’s inner circle have long been encouraging him to part ways with Cyrus, 20, because the increasingly risque star could damage his reputation.
“Liam is a serious actor with a growing career, whereas Miley has just turned into a joke.”
The couple was last seen publicly at the Los Angeles premiere of his movie Paranoia on Aug. 8.
Viewers of the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday night were treated to a bizarre dance routine from former Disney child actress Miley Cyrus, which CBS News describes as “one performance that won’t be forgotten very quickly:”
Cyrus gave Robin Thicke a lap dance, paraded around with dancing bears, twerked her butt off and grabbed her crotch a few times. Not to mention the tongue. We saw a lot of that.
RELATED: Mika Brzezinski: ‘Morally Bankrupt’ Media Exploiting Miley Cyrus Video[Robin] Thicke’s mother, Gloria Loring, told OMG! Insider, “I don’t understand what Miley Cyrus is trying to do. I think she’s misbegotten in this attempt of hers. And I think it was not beneficial.” She added, “I didn’t get what her point was. It was so over the top as to almost be a parody of itself.If you’re unfamiliar with the term, “twerking” is a dance move that dispenses with all the other subtleties of dance to deliver pelvic thrusts and butt wiggles. If a cell phone set to “vibrate” magically became human and started dancing, it would twerk. CBS left out the part where young Miley grabbed a foam finger from a member of the audience and began rubbing it against her crotch. She wound up simulating a bit of anal penetration with Ms. Loring’s son, who was singing with her on stage. And the “bears” in the act were dancers dressed like children’s teddy bears, adding a lovely touch of pedophilia chic to the proceedings.
My first exposure to Ms. Cyrus music came when I was putting together a photo slideshow for my 6-year-old niece’s birthday party, back in the “Hannah Montana” days. That wasn’t so long ago. I remember how much my little niece adored “Hannah Montana.” She’s just now entering her preteen years – that tender moment in a young girl’s life when liberals think she should be able to get morning-after birth control pills over the counter, without her parents’ consent. ”Hannah Montana” was a cute Disney fantasy about an ordinary girl who is secretly a millionaire pop star. Is this how all the little girls who daydreamed about being Hannah Montana thought the dream would end?
I can tell Robin Thicke’s mom what Miley Cyrus was “trying to do.” Most obviously, it was a bid for attention, another jolt of cheap electrical stimulus to the temples of a jaded, faded culture that expects nothing from young people, and is therefore shocked by nothing they do. It’s not easy to generate controversy in a society whose only standard is that there should be no standards. The only way for a barely-legal singer to get tongues wagging is to wag her tongue. What else was she supposed to do, sing and dance modestly after endorsing abstinence, traditional marriage, and self-discipline? That would have been plenty controversial, all right, but the people marketing her music wouldn’t like it, it’s hard to squeeze cash from rebellious teenagers with a message like that, and all the wrong people would have applauded.
Also, Ms. Loring, I would advise you not to underestimate the importance of the pedophile edge to Miley’s routine. Sexualizing young people is an important mission of the Left. They want little girls to jump right from teddy bears to Planned Parenthood. That helps dissolve the bonds of family, which is a fading bastion of independence and self-reliance against collective power. It’s important for the “Ozzie and Harriet” crowd to feel utterly marginalized, as unwelcome in 2013 as the pilgrims of Plymouth Rock. We are supposed to accept that the world has forever moved on from those days. Parents can’t control their kids – indeed, their influence is expressly unwelcome when it comes to sexual training, where the concept of “parental consent” has become as antique as the pocketwatch or bustle. Liberal culture defines wanton sexuality and the rejection of family authority as “empowerment.” It softens people up for hardcore government dependency when they’re forced to stop twerking and face the consequences.
Also, sexy children make a nice distraction for the older members of the Low Information Voter community, who crave transgression and worship youth, working as hard as possible not to grow up.
Miley Cyrus was on the bill with Lady Gaga, who is supposed to be the second coming of the aging Madonna, who has been busy transforming herself into a James Bond villain in her dotage. Lady Gaga is said to have been “upstaged” by Miley’s re-enactment of a Japanese schoolgirl porn video, because all poor Gaga could think to do was dress up as a nun. What kind of rebellion against authority is that? Nuns are so pre-ObamaCare. Religious conscience has given way before the power of the almighty State. Nuns are just marking time until they’re legally compelled to perform abortions.
It might seem pathetic to watch these “edgy” artists flaunt their defiance against thoroughly vanquished traditions, but maybe it’s an encouraging sign. Their marketing gurus apparently think there’s still a bit of milk in the old sacred cows. The kids of 2013 can still savor a look of scandalized horror on Mom and Dad’s faces. Someone apparently thinks “family values” haven’t quite been beaten to death.
Which is good, because “family values” remain our only hope for pulling out of the social and economic nose dive we find ourselves in. The upper class retains the “secrets” of decorum, respect, and fidelity that everyone else has been tricked into forgetting. Back when the Left set about turning the phrase “family values” into a post-modern joke, laughs were had at the expense of uptight squares who didn’t understand the difference between safeguarding important principles and having a bit of fun. Well, the joke is on everyone else.
We never should have forgotten the potent connection between thought and expression, the importance of habit and ritual. It is difficult to treasure what a saturation media culture treats like trash. And it doesn’t help that the law of diminishing returns obliges the people who dug our cultural pit to dig more frantically as the hole grows deeper, madly searching for whatever flickers of shock value might still be left to uncover.
Societies die from thousands of cultural cuts. Children are powerfully influenced by popular culture. They yearn for guidance and inspiration from the adult world. They receive the lesson transmitted by crap like the MTV Video Music Awards. Kids a bit younger than Miley Cyrus remember what she used to be, and they see what she is now. They see the road stretching between those points, and they follow it. Unfortunately, they don’t understand that if you want to live a hedonistic anything-goes lifestyle, starting before you’re legally allowed to purchase alcohol, and avoid being destroyed by the consequences, it really helps to be a millionaire.
On February 28, 1998, a British physician named Andrew Wakefield published a paper in The Lancet that purported to identify a link between the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine and the appearance of autism in children. The results provoked a widespread backlash against vaccines, forcing the medical community to spend years attempting to debunk his false claims. Eventually, it was revealed that Wakefield had fabricated his research as part of a scheme that promised him millions of dollars. Wakefield suffered a dramatic public downfall—his medical license stripped, his paper retracted from publication—but the damage was done. His propaganda had led to decreased immunization rates and an outbreak of measles in London.
Wakefield’s falsified claims remain at the core of a stubbornly popular anti-vaccination movement. To this day, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, many people believe that vaccines are the principal cause of autistic spectrum disorders.
One of the most prominent promoters of this falsehood is actress Jenny McCarthy, who was recently named as Elisabeth Hasselbeck’s replacement on ABC’s hit daytime talk-show, The View. Once she’s on air, it will be difficult to prevent her from advocating for the anti-vaccine movement. And the mere act of hiring her would seem to credit her as a reliable source.
In 2007, McCarthy debuted her views on the national stage when she appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show to discuss autism, which is growing at alarming rates and continues to baffle medical researchers. McCarthy was convinced that vaccines gave her son autism and seizures. In addition to a gluten-free diet, aromatherapies, B-12 shots and vitamins, she also tried chelation therapy, which is meant to remove toxic substances from the body. Her son, she claimed, was “cured.”
Within the first few minutes of the interview, McCarthy cited as reasons for her success a “little voice” and her “mommy instincts,” all while denigrating several doctors and EMTs.
Oprah Winfrey’s decision to let McCarthy act as an expert, to dismiss science with alchemy, without asking any tough questions, was unconscionable. The same could be said of the producers of Larry King Live and Good Morning America, both of which hosted McCarthy soon after. Even though they at least asked questions about her views, Larry King had her debate a doctor, as though her disproven ideas should be given the same equivalence as those of a medical expert.
In fact, McCarthy’s beliefs—that vaccines and mercury cause autism, that a good diet cures autism and that “diagnosticians and pediatricians have made a career out of telling parents autism is a hopeless condition”—have been roundly dismissed and discredited by doctors and scientists, who insist that her claims are based on no scientific data or research. McCarthy wasn’t deterred. “The University of Google,” she said to Oprah, “is where I got my degree from.”
Let’s be clear: there is no connection between vaccines and autism.
Despite the evidence, it is easy to understand why the parent of an autistic child—in fear and confusion and desperation—might find McCarthy’s claims enticing. These are parents at their most vulnerable and McCarthy, though perhaps well intentioned, has preyed on them. This fear-mongering is incredibly dangerous, especially when a quarter of parents trust the information provided by celebrities about the safety of vaccines. A movement borne out of Wakefield’s discredited research, animated by misinformation, and promoted by people like McCarthy has fed an anti-vaccine frenzy, leading to a huge spike in cases of whooping cough in communities across the United States, especially in Washington State, which, in 2012, saw its worst epidemic in seventy years.
We see the same dangerous nonsense playing out with the HPV vaccine, a major breakthrough that can prevent cervical cancer and, it was recently found, throat cancer in men and women. Unfortunately, parents studying at McCarthy’s alma mater, the University of Google, are absorbing misinformation and refusing to vaccinate their kids.
View co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck is making the jump from network to cable, with the announcement today that she will be leaving ABC’s The View to co-host Fox & Friends.RELATED: Elisabeth Hasselbeck's Last Day on The View Is Wednesday
In Fox’s press release, Hasselbeck says, “I have been a long-time fan of Fox & Friends and am excited to be joining their team in September as it is an honor to call the FOX News Channel my new television home.”
The press release also includes Ailes welcoming Hasselbeck and praising her for her “warm and engaging personality,” and a statement from Barbara Walters saying, “We will miss her and wish her everything good.”
There were rumors back in March that Hasselbeck would be leaving The View this year. Walters denied that Hasselbeck was being pushed out for her conservative views, or at all, for that matter, only to be rebutted by a report a week later saying that Hasselbeck is “toast.” Another rumor sprung up that CNN head Jeff Zucker was interested in bringing Hasselbeck on CNN right after leaving ABC. Hasselbeck will officially start on the couch with Steve Doocy and Brian Kilmeade in mid-September.
Meanwhile, current Fox & Friends co-host Gretchen Carlson will be leaving the morning show to anchor her own daytime program, debuting sometime this fall.
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