In the face of the Trump presidency, Katy Perry asserts her political self, but to what end?

Katy Perry won’t let the Trumpocalypse keep you off the dance floor. The 32-year-old pop singer debuted “Chained to the Rhythm” at the Grammy awards. Announcing that the chanteuse would devote her brand to “purposeful pop,” she wore an armband emblazoned with the word “PERSIST,” a nod to Elizabeth Warren’s protest on the Senate floor against Jeff Sessions’ confirmation. As she read a letter from Coretta Scott King admonishing the civil rights record of the Alabama Senator, Republican Mitch McConnell shouted her down, saying: “She persisted.” That phrase has since become a rallying cry against the new administration. Perry, one of Hillary Clinton’s most passionate supporters during the 2016 race, wrote on Twitter that the 2016 election was a moment of awakening for the singer, known more for squirting whip cream from her breasts than her political awareness.“Sometimes it’s scary opening up to consciousness,” she wrote, “makes you realize how asleep you were, and how OK you were with it.” The catchy tune, which is the first single from Perry’s yet-to-be-released fourth album, is intended to mark a shift in her public persona. Produced by the ever-ubiquitous Sia, “Chained to the Rhythm” marries Perry’s glittery facade — as well as her torrid love affair with mixed metaphors — to an undercurrent of Trump-era malaise. “Living our lives through a lens,” she croons. “Trapped in our white-picket fence/ Like ornaments/” The bridge, courtesy of Bob Marley’s son, Skip, stops just short of calling for a coup. “Up in your high place, liars/” the 20-year-old sing-raps. “Time is ticking for the empire/” Rebooting her persona appears to be working for the former California Gurl: “Chained to the Rhythm” is breaking records on Spotify, with more streams in its first 24 hours than any other song in the platform’s history. Selling herself as “woke” is good marketing for a singer about to enter the second decade of her career, a transition that’s been extremely unkind to pop contemporaries from Jessica Simpson to Lily Allen. But the issue is that Perry has been selling herself as enlightened for some time, even as her discography is littered with a distasteful undercurrent of homophobia and racism. If the diva hopes to rescue America from Trump with booty-shaking jams, Perry needs to save herself first. The pop mainstay first stormed onto the scene with “I Kissed A Girl” in 2008, the rare song to upset both Christian conservatives and the LGBT community. Republicans didn’t like the Dr. Luke-produced thumper because it appeared to promote homosexuality, but queer critics took issue with the seemingly affirming tune’s underlying premise: It’s OK to make out with other girls as long as you aren’t a lesbian about it. Perry claims that she penned the No. 1 hit — which actually has four writers attached — after catching a glimpse of Scarlett Johansson, then Woody Allen’s muse, in a magazine. But the track dabbles in the sort of girl-on-girl action you might find at a frat party, Sapphic action strictly for the purpose of male attention. The singer, who reminds us in the song that she has a “boyfriend,” repeatedly reminds her audience that it’s all in good fun: “You’re my experimental game/ Just human nature.” One particular couplet, though, really drove a stake all the way through the heart of LGBT listeners. “It’s not what, good girls do,” Perry sings. “Not how they should behave.” These are odd sentiments for someone who has repeatedly referred to herself as a supporter of the queer community. The debut of “I Kissed a Girl,” which spent seven weeks atop the pop charts, coincided with the passage of Proposition 8 in California, a voter referendum that overturned an earlier Supreme Court decision legalizing marriage equality at the ballot box. After same-sex union were voted down in her home state, Perry told DoSomething.org: “I am a gay activist and I say that proudly. I voted no on Prop 8.” Perry has billed herself as an ally to LGBT people throughout her career, dedicating the music video to “Firework” to the It Gets Better campaign. Over vaguely inspirational lyrics imploring asking listeners have “ever [felt] like a plastic bag/ drifting through the wind/ wanting to start again,” the video shows two boys kissing in a crowded dance party. But as The New York Times noted, there was something a little more than opportunistic behind its veneer of queer affirmation. The song, which Perry also claimed was a tribute to Jack Kerouac, was written in 2009, well before Tyler Clementi’s suicide made the issue of anti-gay bullying a nationwide topic of conversation. Clementi was a Rutgers student who took his own life in 2010 after being outed by his roommate. The lyrics for “Firework” are so vague and nonspecific they could be applied to anything. Like the video for Christina Aguilera’s thematically identical “Beautiful,” the video also makes room for a young cancer patient and a teen struggling with body negativity. It’s also nakedly hypocritical about someone who once implored an effeminate ex to kill himself in a song to advocate for tolerance and understanding. Although “I Kissed a Girl” proved her big break in the U.S., it wasn’t her first release here. That would be “Ur So Gay,” offered up as a promotional single from “One of the Boys.” The triphop-inspired track failed to chart on the Hot 100 but managed to go Gold on the strength of digital downloads. On “Ur So Gay,” Perry bemoans the fact that she fell in love with a straight man who acts gay. Among the metrosexual fellow’s chief sins are that the fellow wears makeup, likes Hemingway and listens to Mozart — basically that he behaves like a woman, is culturally refined and has good taste in books. The singer would like you to know that these traits are bad and men who enjoy such things are not desirable. Her solution? “I hope you hang yourself with your H&M scarf/” she sings, later adding: “You’re so gay and you don’t even like boys/” Perry recorded the song in 2008, which you could reasonably argue was a long time ago. Perhaps she released it, learned from the extremely negative feedback from the LGBT community, regretted the controversy and moved on. Unfortunately not. Shortly after “Ur So Gay” was released, Zack Rosen of The New Gay confronted her about claims that the song is homophobic and Perry shrugged off the criticism. She told Rosen the backlash was “unfortunate,” a response that should be read as analogous to “I’m sorry if you’re offended.” In an episode of “MTV Unplugged” recorded the same year, Ms. Perry would double down on defending “Ur So Gay.” She called the anti-LGBT anthem “one of [her] favorite songs.” Rather than dropping the tune, “Ur So Gay” would remain in her rotation. Even while using bullied youth to sell copies of “Firework,” Perry dedicated the song to a male concertgoer in 2010 — a former crush who didn’t return her affections. Perry has willfully continued making these sorts of mistakes her entire career, refusing to grow and evolve as an artist. Critics pointed out that the lyrics of “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.),” an 80’s throwback complete with a sax solo courtesy of Kenny G, heavily allude to date rape and it didn’t help that the video shows someone getting roofied — as if getting drugged and sexually assaulted where just a wild and wacky thing that happens when you’re busy having fun. At the 1:40 mark, you can clearly see a male partygoer putting something in his female conversation partner’s drink. The singer has also been lambasted for featuring minstrel depictions of black women, with oversized posteriors and giant pink lips, in her performances. During the video for “This Is How We Do,” she pulls an Iggy Azalea — donning cornrows, slicked down baby hair and an exaggerated pucker. If the intent weren’t obvious enough, Perry eats a watermelon. Maybe Perry — who has continually defended her right to be as racist and homophobic as she wants — has finally come of age and matured as an artist and a human being. Stranger things have happened. But then again, probably not. Even while debuting her new socially conscious Barbie image, Perry managed to take not one but two unnecessary swipes at Britney Spears on the Grammys red carpet. Spears, who had a very public breakdown in 2007, famously cut off all her hair at the height of media fascination about her mental health. She has since sought treatment and appears to be doing well, releasing a well-received comeback album, “Glory,” last year. The former party girl spends most of her time Instagramming about Caesar salads. When Ryan Seacrest asked Perry why she took such a long break in between releasing records, the singer didn’t tout her newfound wisdom. She called it “taking care of your mental health.” Perry added, “I haven’t shaved my head yet.” As the saying goes, if it ain’t woke, don’t fix it.

News Source: www.salon.com

Angelina Jolie — and Her Kids! — Meet with Royalty at Cambodian Movie Premiere

Angelina Jolie‘s long-awaited Cambodian film premiere was a family affair. The actress was joined by her children — Maddox, 15, Pax, 13, Zahara, 11, Shiloh, 10, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 8 — at the world premiere of her passion project, First They Killed My Father in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Her sons Maddox, who was born in Cambodia, and Pax were both involved in the film’s production. Presented at the Terrace of the Elephant in the ancient Angkor Wat temple complex, the film was screened to both Hollywood and Cambodian royalty, as the country’s King Norodom Sihamoni and Queen Mother Norodom Monineath Sihanouk were in attendance, along with a host of senior government officials. Jolie and her family posed for a photo with the royal family at the premiere. The premiere of First They Killed My Father, was screened in the temple of the elephant terrace, a couple of kilometers from where Jolie shot her breakout 2001 film Tomb Raider. As the heat of the day wore off, local families picnicked along the banks of a nearby lake, while monkeys scavenged the area for scraps of food. For those without invitations, the entrance to the premiere itself was blocked off by a handful of police and security guards. Several white minivans drove past taking attendees to the screening. Cheany Nem, 30, from Kampong Cham province came to the premiere with her husband, mother, niece and nephew after hearing that locals could see the film for free. But they were not allowed in because they don’t have an invitation and access was tight due to the attendance of the royal family. “Me, like a lot of young people, want to know what happened during the Khmer Rouge,” Nem said. “My mum is older so knows the story. I heard from her what happened but i wanted to know for myself. “When I was young I learned about the Khmer Rouge from school. Learning about it made me feel hurt and that makes me want to come see the movie.” Rady, who works in Siem Reap, agreed about the importance of seeing the movie. “My kids don’t know anything about the history,” the 40-year-old said outside the premiere. “It’s very important for the kids — they don’t know about all the killings at the time — so by watching this movie they can learn about the history of Cambodia.” “Of course its hard to talk about what happened, but a movie can say it,” Rady continued. “I hope for the future that our country will teach the youth the history of Cambodia so they know what happened.” Nem said that Jolie was obviously a big draw for seeing the film but added: “Its an important memory for every Khmer person. Its important for young people to learn about the Khmer Rouge. They want to know” Earlier in the day, the Oscar winner made her first public appearance since she filed for divorce from Brad Pitt, when she attended a press event for the film. At the press conference, Jolie said she thinks of Cambodia “like a second home,” adding, “Maddox is happy to be back in his country.” Based on the autobiography of the same name by Cambodian human-rights activist Loung Ung, a friend of Jolie’s, First They Killed My Father tells the true story of the devastation inflicted on Cambodia by the Khmer Rouge communist party in the 1970s.“I read Loung’s book many years ago,” Jolie said at the press conference. “It helped to open my eyes to what was going on the world.” She added, “I wanted to tell the story to through the eyes of the child’s point of view, the love of a family, to show the beauty of the country and understand what Maddox’s parents may have gone through.” More than two million people, out of a total population of seven million, were killed during the purge, including Ung’s father, mother and two sisters. “The heart of it is Loung’s story, it’s the story of a war through the eyes of a child, but it is also the story of a country,” Jolie said in a promotional clip for the film. Jolie used only Cambodian actors, many of whom are the survivors or children of the survivors of the genocide. In addition, Jolie insisted only their native Khmer be spoken throughout the film. Jolie, Ung and the producers hoped the experience of making the film would be cathartic for those who participated. The actress’s love affair with Cambodia began after she filmed Tomb Raider in the country in 2000. Not long after she was finished with production, she returned to Cambodia as a volunteer for the U.N. refugee agency, UNHCR, for which she is now a special envoy. In 2002, Jolie adopted her first child, Maddox, from a Battambang orphanage. “He was the one who just called it and said he was ready and that he wanted to work on it, which he did,” Jolie recently told The Guardian of Maddox’s role in the film. “He read the script, helped with notes, and was in the production meetings.” Jolie’s second-oldest son, Pax, was also involved in the production. In 2015, Jolie told PEOPLE, “Pax is doing a lot of the stills,” adding, “The whole movie is from a child’s point of view.”

News Source: www.people.com

Watch Jimmy Fallon Mock President Trump's Insane Solo Press Conference

Jimmy Fallon parodied President Trump's bizarre solo press conference with the cold-open of Thursday's Tonight Show. The comedian, decked out in his traditional orange make-up, hosted his own event, poking fun at the president's rambling statements and confrontations with reporters. "First of all, you're all fake news," Fallon said to open the bit. "I hate you very much. And thank you for being here. Next." Later, he vowed to make Beyoncé Secretary of Labor because of her pregnancy expertise, used a tiny hand prop to drink a glass of water and vowed to change his widely used slogan to the "classier" "faux news." The rest of late-night television also scrambled to weigh in on Trump's disastrous first solo press conference, held Thursday afternoon. The Late Show's Stephen Colbert went in-depth on the "historic event," observing that Trump was truly all by himself behind the podium – "evidently he didn't even bring his meds with him." Firing back at Trump's claim that he "inherited a mess" with the presidency, Colbert cracked, "No, you inherited a fortune. We elected a mess." The host highlighted the president's most absurd moments – from inaccurately claiming his victory marked the "biggest Electoral College win since Ronald Reagan" to suggesting April Ryan, an African-American White House correspondent, should "set up a meeting" with the Congressional Black Caucus. "Oh, you're a black woman? Can you talk to the Congressional Black Caucus?" Colbert mocked. "Can you guys get together at your next meeting of the black club?" (Late Show bandleader Jon Batiste concurred that, indeed, all black people meet up periodically "at Oprah's house.") On Late Night, Seth Meyers was forced to shred, literally, his previous edition of "A Closer Look," which focused on Republican attempts to repeal Obamacare. His replacement segment included a hilarious mash-up of Trump's biggest tantrums and insulting responses: a flurry of "fake news," "Quiet!" and "I don't have to tell you." "Did you hear him? He said he's 'not ranting and raving,'" Meyers said. "But again, what president hasn't had to say, 'I'm not ranting and raving'? Who can forget Lincoln's tirade at Gettysburg or FDR's fireside meltdowns or Ronald Raegan famously saying, 'Gorbachev, if you don't tear down this fucking wall, I'm gonna lose my shit'?" Meanwhile, on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, the dazed host marveled that the tone of the press conference was "like if your dad found a pack of cigarettes under your mattress … You know it was a bad press conference when assuming all black people know each other wasn't even the worst part of it."

News Source; www.rollingstone.com

Fifth Harmony Reveal Attempts to Make Camila Cabello Stay for 'One More Album'

"To watch Camila walk away from this special world we've built with you is tough,"
 Fifth Harmony write to fans Fifth Harmony released a second letter addressing Camila Cabello's exit from the pop group, after Cabello said she was "shocked" and "sad" to read that the group felt her departure was sudden. According to Cabello, her exit was known well in advance of the announcement. According to Fifth Harmony's new letter, Cabello's first solo effort in late 2015 and her duet with Shawn Mendes titled "I Know What You Did Last Summer" caused problems. They paint a picture of a member with one foot out the door as they claim they spent months trying to plan meetings, group counseling and label interventions to try and convince Cabello that they deserve "one more album of her time." They revealed that Cabello did not attend any of the meetings or counseling sessions they scheduled. Cabello's manager was the one to tell Fifth Harmony that she would be leaving, having informed them in mid-November that a December 18th Jingle Ball tour date would be her last performance with them. "To watch Camila walk away from this special world we've built with you is tough but we will move forward together," they said. "We are excited to continue to put positivity into the world and light into people's lives. The four of us recognize that we would be NOTHING without Fifth Harmony." Remaining members Ally Brooke, Dinah Jane Hansen, Lauren Jauregui and Normani Kordei ended their message by reaffirming that they will continue on as a quartet and that this would be their last message regarding the situation, so as to not continue engaging "in this back and forth."

News Source: www.rollingstone.com

Kristen Bell And Cast Of 'Veronica Mars' Tell Us What's Next

Now that "Veronica Mars" has been in theaters and on demand for a full weekend, what's next for the detective franchise? While at SXSW we asked Kristen Bell, Rob Thomas (creator of the show and movie) and the rest of the cast just what they thought would be coming up. "I would just do just about anything," Bell told us. "It would great to do a franchise of movies, we have a bit more creativity in film than we do on television. But if one day it comes back as some sort of a series, I would be involved as well." And Thomas has even more ambitious ideas in mind. "Big picture, I feel like Nancy Drew had a good 70 year run, and I would like to replace her," Thomas joked. "Honestly, I hope on some level, dream of dreams that Veronica would become an iconic fictional detective, and she could be spun off in any number of ways." In fact, Thomas is spinning off "Veronica Mars" into a series of novels starting with "The Ten Thousand Dollar Tan Line" on March 25. The book picks up right after the movie, and if everything goes well could be the launching pad for the next movie, as well. "The novels that we're doing, those could very well end up being future 'Veronica Mars' plots," Thomas continued. "I'm really taking care with the plotting of those, and I'm going to try and make it a continuous universe. So those novels don't exist in some parallel universe, but in Veronica's timeline." Thomas added that he hopes "Veronica Mars" becomes a "mini Bond franchise," releasing a new film every two or three years, though not for $100 million like the "Bond" films. "The affordable franchise, is what I'd like to be," Thomas quipped. Bell meanwhile ultimately leaves the decision up to the people who revived the show in the first place. "I would want to know what the fans want, to be honest," Bell said. "I don't say that insincerely. As an artist, you want to do things that your audience likes and wants and appreciates and gets excited about." And on the other end of the spectrum, actor Chris Lowell has a completely different idea on where his character should go next. "Veronica Mars and Piz in space," Lowell joked. "Why are we even talking about this? Piz in space. I mean, that's it. Who's not going to see that movie?" "Veronica Mars" is now in theaters.

News Source:www.mtv.com