On Friday, , her co-star and director in the film . The 80-page document alleged that Baldoni, his producing partner Jamey Heath and their Wayfarer Studios hired a public relations firm to orchestrate a smear campaign aimed at destroying Lively's reputation after . “I hope that my legal action helps pull back the curtain on these sinister retaliatory tactics to harm people who speak up about misconduct and helps protect others who may be targeted,” . Bryan Freedman, representing Baldoni, his company Wayfarer Studios and all its representatives, called the allegations in Lively's complaint “categorically false.” During the promotion of the film, it was evident that there had been a rift between the stars, with some reports pointing to . But as the rumor mill churned, , including new clips from the press tour, led to backlash against the actress. Lively was depicted as rude and a “mean girl” as well as for seeming to avoid of . But report, which featured allegedly from the firm Baldoni hired, painted a much different picture than the one many fans saw over the summer. Now the story told about Lively is being reevaluated and the new information highlights how a savvy media strategy can set a particular narrative; one that often portrays women as the villain while giving men the benefit of the doubt. Here’s what people are saying about the situation and what we can learn about the power of the media when it comes to fueling hate against a public figure. Internet culture writer Taylor Lorenz to criticize the media for refusing to use the word “misogyny” — the hatred or prejudice against women based on their gender — when discussing the alleged smear campaign against Lively, and the initial vitriol hurled her way. Lorenz called this erasure “part of a pattern,” claiming that “when high profile women challenge power structures, call out abuse or loudly express progressive values, they are met with calculated, well-funded campaigns to discredit and destroy their reputations.” Lorenz likened the alleged coordinated effort against Lively to one that was reportedly used to discredit Amber Heard during ex-husband . Lorenz speculates that there are “no equivalent campaigns against men because men do not suffer misogyny.” “Misogyny is a gendered weapon, while men in the spotlight may face criticism, it does not devolve into the kind of vitriolic, deeply personal, and sustained attacks designed to humiliate, discredit, and silence women,” Lorenz wrote. “Men are not scrutinized in the same ways that women are. They are not subject to the same avalanche of gendered threats and abuse.” When we fail to name misogyny as the “central force” of these campaigns, Lorenz opined, “the news media perpetuates the idea that this is just how fame works, rather than how misogyny works.” One person not afraid to call the situation misogynistic is lawyer Kelli Jones, who wrote in that it “runs deep” in this situation. “Everyone was so damn quick to attack the woman and give the man the benefit of the doubt,” Jones claimed. “People are so quick to give men the benefit of the doubt & reserve opinion because ‘they met him once’ or share a ‘friend of a friend who said he's a good guy’ etc. But quick to jump on a woman just because they don't like her & were glad to hear 1 bad thing and join the takedown. Spoiler: that's misogyny. And it comes from women too.” She added that for all the people finding it hard to believe that Baldoni could be at fault, “ask yourself why you're so hesitant to fully support women without adding a ‘but.’” She claimed that the same misogynistic system that allowed Harvey Weinstein and Bill Cosby, convicted sexual predators, to thrive, is what also caused Lively’s downfall. “Literally nobody is saying it's all men. But it's enough,” Jones declared. “And that's the problem. And it's systemic, and widespread, and women are the ones today I've seen with the worst takes unfortunately.” Influencer called some responses to the Lively lawsuit “heinous” in a , “Ladies, your internalized misogyny is showing,” she wrote. “Say it with me: WOMEN CAN BE UNLIKEABLE AND NOT DESERVE TO BE SEXUALLY HARRASSED.” She added: “it does not and should not matter whether blake lively is likable or unlikable.” Rachel Kath also pointed out that Lively’s “likeability” shouldn’t be a factor in whether or not we believe that Baldoni behaved inappropriately towards her, she wrote on . The narrative that “they both suck,” Kath pointed out, just perpetuates the idea that a woman who speaks out must not be a true victim. She also reminded readers that while the celebrities involved in this case likely won’t see the public’s reactions on social media, “women in your lives who have been abused, harassed, and/or assaulted will.” She added, “the way you react to cases that have evidence, and are in the public eye; says a lot about how you will react to cases that do not have the same amount of evidence or support. Consider this before you share your hot takes.” In an article for Inc., Suzanne Lucas, a human resources consultant known on social media as the “Evil HR Lady,” . She wrote specifically about Lively pushing back on Baldoni allegedly kissing her in a way she did not consent to during filming. While Lively may have agreed to participate in sex scenes with Baldoni as her character Lily, Lucas wrote that “she did not, according to the lawsuit, consent to other behaviors.” In the legal complaint, that includes unwanted, improvised kissing and whispering in Lively’s ear. “Even in industries where sexual behavior is part of the job description, the law still protects individuals’ rights to set and keep boundaries,” Lucas stated. “All sexual behavior must be welcome and consented to by all parties.” Since workplace boundaries aren’t always “clearly spelled out by contract,” Lucas declared that it’s “best to not even fiddle with whether lewd behavior was wanted or unwanted.” As she put it: “You should not tolerate it in your business.” In an opinion piece for the New York Times, Nicholas Kristof, who previously worked with Lively on , spoke about the troubling possibilities of social manipulation. “Even in an age when wild lies and deepfakes catch fire on social media, it’s a little scary to think that a few P.R. professionals could manage to undercut one of America’s best-known celebrities so successfully, swiftly and effortlessly,” he wrote, noting that if it’s possible to damage a person like Lively, no woman may be safe. “As one of the people hired by Wayfarer put it, ‘People really want to hate on women,’” he wrote. Kristof applauded Lively's courage, especially given the context of her lawsuit, which alleged at one point that she was made uncomfortable by Heath watching her nude while having body makeup removed. “I suspect that the last thing Lively wants is for us to be discussing people leering at her while she was naked,” Kristof speculated. “This suit prolongs the humiliation. But the only way to end impunity is to speak up.” Writer Coco Mocoe annotated Lively’s lawsuit against Baldoni on . Mocoe, who declared herself to be a person who “preaches media literacy,” admitted in her piece that she, like many others, “fell for the storylines that were fed to the public during the release of the movie earlier this year.” “I believe multiple things can exist at once,” she wrote. “Someone can be snarky and mean but they can also be the victim of an unfair, hateful campaign against them as punishment for speaking up about an unsafe work environment.” Mocoe encouraged her readers to review the lawsuit: “If you are someone who does not believe Blake Lively was the victim of a smear campaign, I encourage you to read the full lawsuit and see if your mind changes." she called the evidence against Baldoni and his team “damning.” In , Laura Snapes, who admitted to regularly slamming Lively’s behavior during the press tour, wrote that her opinion changed after being presented with the actress’s evidence. Snapes asked how many smear campaigns have “seduced our most base and ungenerous instincts into swallowing their line” while stating the ways in which it appears we have culturally “regressed” from “ostracising figures who act badly to grasping for politically legible ways to take against anyone whose greatest crime might be ‘seeming a bit annoying.’” “Lively’s complaint has left my head spinning,” Snapes wrote. “What can you really trust? How do we question accepted narratives without descending into tin-hatted conspiracy theory? Why do so many people hate women this much? How much internalised misogyny roils under my own skin every day? I’d like to reach for a cute ending, to say that through assiduous, informed questioning and acute media literacy, cases like Lively’s might, you know, end with us. But the truth is I don’t think we stand a chance.” Slate writer Heather Schwedel with Snapes about the difficulty untangling the web of lies allegedly created by media machines trying to craft their own narrative beyond the truth. “If this makes you question whether you can believe anything you read on the internet, that’s the right reaction to have,” Schwedel said, calling revisiting the summer coverage of a “humbling experience” as “a lot of people seemed all too happy to board the hate train and run with the narrative that Lively was a problem.” “I feel duped too,” she declared. “Here we thought we were sophisticated media consumers, but it turns out no one is immune from being manipulated.” Schwedel also pointed out that while the less-than-flattering videos that circulated of Lively during the press tour may have made her seem “rude” or “difficult,” we should remember that there is no such thing as a perfect victim — and imperfect victims are “exactly the sort of person everyone is always going on about extending more grace to,” she wrote. “So what if she was kind of annoying? She was also, allegedly, a victim of sexual harassment and retaliation, and the first thing has no bearing on the second,” Schwedel said of Lively. “She deserves credit, too, for exposing all of this.” Glamour writer Stephanie McNeal titled “You Fell for an Online Smear Campaign. Now What?” She highlighted the public’s role in allowing the negativity against stars like Lively to thrive online — even if they’re allegedly being pushed for nefarious purposes. She cited blind gossip items, which are unverified and frequently shared by the public without much thought, for allowing unsubstantiated rumors to run wild. McNeal theorized that, as more and more people lose trust in mainstream publications and as , “many intelligent people accept these stories at face value,” and sometimes wrongfully assume that they are a greater source of behind-the-scenes truth than what established media outlets can provide. “It’s easy to think that engaging with a blind item on TikTok or sharing an Instagram Reel breaking down apparent drama behind the scenes is a harmless and silly pursuit,” McNeal declared. “But by blindly engaging with these types of unverified and insidious content, there are actual, real life consequences. In the lawsuit, Lively’s lawyers state she has been emotionally devastated by the campaign.”
Scotland hero outlines where Rangers are going wrong as they discuss 'empty seats'
PHILADELPHIA — Heeerrreee’s Kelce! Jason Kelce, the retired Eagles center turned multimedia star, is taking his talents to late-night television as the host of "They Call It Late Night," a new weekly ESPN show filmed in Philadelphia with a limited run leading up to the Super Bowl. Emphasis on late. The show will debut at 1 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 4, so make sure you set your DVR. “I loved late-night shows, I’ve always loved them,” Kelce said on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" Thursday night. “I remember sleepovers watching Conan O’Brien with my friends.” Kelce didn’t say much about the format of the show or his first guests, but it will be NFL-focused and air a total of five episodes from Week 18 through the playoffs. “We’re going to have a bunch of guys up there, legends of the game, friends that I played the game with, coaches, celebrities, while also incorporating NFL films,” Kelce said. One thing is clear — not many people are going to be tuning in at 1 a.m. to watch Kelce or anyone else, especially as cord-cutting continues. Instead, the show appears designed to live online, with clips pushed on social media by ESPN’s mighty digital footprint, and available digitally on both ESPN+ and Kelce’s YouTube channel. "They Call It Late Night" will be filmed Friday nights at Union Transfer in Philadelphia, with music provided by brass-heavy Philly party band Snacktime. Tickets will be available through 1iota, but specific information on how to attend a taping hasn’t been released. The name of Kelce’s show is a nod to "They Call it Pro Football," the first full-length documentary produced by NFL films back in 1967, which featured the immortal words of famed Philadelphia broadcaster Jon Facenda: “It starts with a whistle and ends with a gun.” It’s just the latest gig for Kelce, who is in his first season as an NFL studio analyst on ESPN’s "Monday Night Football" pregame show, Monday Night Countdown. He also cohosts "New Heights," the $100 million podcast he began back in 2022 with his brother, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. There’s also weekly appearances on 94.1 WIP and commercial spots for Wawa, Buffalo Wild Wings, NFL Sunday Ticket, Garage Beer, and more. Oh, and he’s also back with another Philly Special Christmas album alongside Eagles offensive linemen Jordan Mailata and Lane Johnson. Kelce isn’t afraid to stay busy, but being in the spotlight has led to some issues. In May, Kelce and his wife, Kylie, were heckled by a fan in Margate after the duo declined a request for a photo. And earlier this month, Kelce admitted letting his anger get the better of him after a Penn State fan used a homophobic slur in reference to Travis. Kelce reacted by slamming the fan’s phone to the ground and repeating the slur back, which he later apologized for. “It’s a little much at times,” Kelce admitted to The Philadelphia Inquirer during an interview before the start of the NFL season. While the late-night stint might only be five weeks, Kelce signed a multiyear deal with ESPN earlier this year that gives him a lot of flexibility to do different things. In addition to his role as a studio analyst, Kelce spent some time in the booth calling the Eagles’ Week 2 loss to the Atlanta Falcons alongside "Monday Night Football" announcers Joe Buck and Troy Aikman. “I think I got better as it went,” Kelce said following the game. “I think everybody saw Tom Brady’s first-week performance and had a lot of criticism for it ... I got to see firsthand why that’s so hard, for sure.” ©2024 The Philadelphia Inquirer. Visit inquirer.com . Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.None
ATHEX: Bourse builds on previous days of gainsA key figure in a trucker protest that jammed Canada's capital and sparked a global movement against Covid mandates was found guilty Friday for his role in the blockade. The self-styled "Freedom Convoy" of big rig drivers and protesters rolled into Ottawa in early 2022 from across Canada to express anger at government protocols imposed to contain Covid-19. After three weeks of turmoil, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked rarely used emergency powers to dislodge the protesters. Pat King was among hundreds of people arrested, and the first of the protest leaders to be convicted. Two other organizers, Tamara Lich and Chris Barber faced a separate criminal trial but those verdicts are not expected until 2025. King faces up to 10 years in prison after being convicted on five charges, including mischief, counselling others to commit mischief and disobeying a court order. Acquitted of more serious charges, he smiled at a packed courtroom of supporters as the judge read the verdict. "Mr King was not merely engaging in political speech," Justice Charles Hackland said. "Rather, he was inciting the protesters to continue their ongoing blockade of downtown Ottawa." King led hundreds of big rigs and thousands of protestors to Ottawa, bringing the capital to a standstill for more than three weeks. Residents and business owners complained of incessant honking and harassment. As the demonstrators' demands expanded to a broader anti-establishment agenda, solidarity rallies popped up at Canada-US trade corridors and various places abroad. Most of the evidence at trial consisted of videos King posted on social media in which he urged his nearly 300,000 followers to rail against government overreach. "Hold the line," he said in video posts, appearing also to delight in the gridlock and misery of locals: "Pretty hilarious that people haven't been able to sleep for 10 days." Trudeau faced strong criticisms from civil liberties groups and the opposition Conservatives for invoking the Emergencies Act to dislodge the protestors. But a commission of inquiry ruled it had been "appropriate," calling it "a drastic move, but... not a dictatorial one." amc/bs/bfm
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Miami (Ohio), Colorado State take adjustments into Arizona BowlTORONTO, Dec. 04, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — PIMCO Canada Corp. (“ ”) announced today that at special meetings of the unitholders of PIMCO Tactical Income Fund (TSX: PTI), PIMCO Tactical Income Opportunities Fund (TSX: PTO) and PIMCO Multi-Sector Income Fund (TSX: PIX) (collectively, the “ ”) held on December 4, 2024, unitholders of the Funds approved all matters relating to the reorganization of each Fund (the “ ”), each currently structured as a trust, whereby holders of units of the Funds will become holders of the same class of units of PIMCO Monthly Enhanced Income Fund (TSX: PMEI), a new non-redeemable investment fund structured as a trust managed by PIMCO Canada, all as more particularly described in the Management Information Circular of the Funds dated October 18, 2024. The necessary regulatory and independent review committee approvals have also been received. 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In the 50+ years since, the firm continued to bring innovation and expertise to our partnership with clients seeking the best investment solutions. Today PIMCO has offices across the globe and 2,500+ professionals united by a single purpose: creating opportunities for investors in every environment. PIMCO is owned by Allianz SE, a leading global diversified financial services provider. Certain statements included in this news release constitute forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, those identified by the expressions “expect”, “anticipate”, “will” and similar expressions to the extent they relate to the Funds. The forward-looking statements are not historical facts but reflect the Fund’s, PIMCO Canada and/or PIMCO’s current expectations regarding future results or events. 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