Viraldice

Since quarantine, much to the chagrin of my friend, coworker, and huge Spider-Man fan Rachel Leishman, I have been revisiting the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s version of Spider-Man. Tom Holland, without a doubt, is an excellent Peter Parker and Spider-Man. He nails all the aspects of the youthful snarkiness that have made the character beloved for such a long time. But, I have questions about how Tony Stark’s shadow has hovered over Peter’s MCU incarnation.

This is something I’ve been feeling for a while, but during a binge-watch of YouTuber Skip Intro’s “Copaganda” series, I finally heard someone else say it when he brought up how the MCU fits into copaganda. Because the MCU operates as this living comic book/franchise, the interconnectedness of it makes sense, especially when it comes to bringing in lesser know characters.

But Spider-Man is the big leagues. Spider-Man was, before the MCU, probably the most well-known and popular Marvel superhero outside of the X-Men franchise. From the Sam Rami Spider-Man trilogy movies that defined the character for a generation to the Amazing Spider-Man films, which were less popular but still did well, Spider-Man’s story is one with its own specific journey and characters.

Which, in the MCU, have all been tied to Tony Stark.

Tony is the person who gives Peter his suit. Tony is the Uncle Ben father figure that Peter has to lose in order to get weepy and have a complex. Tony is the reason for both the Vulture and Mysterio, two iconic central Spider-Man rogues’ gallery members!

Mind you, I’m not angry about it, but it does feel like they just used Peter Parker’s Spider-Man for ownership reasons when that MCU role could have been filled by either Riri Williams (Ironheart) or Miles Morales’s Spider-Man—especially since they gave Peter’s friend Ned all the characteristics of Miles’s friend Ganke Lee.

One of the best things about Peter Parker in the comics is that he’s just a normal dude, who got bitten by a spider and now is a good guy. He doesn’t make a lot of money, but he’s smart, and loves photography and his Aunt May. When have we seen MCU’s Peter show any interest in the things that so often defined him in comics besides SCIENCE™? Where is broke Peter Parker? You know the one.

(Marvel Comics)

I love Tom Holland as Spider-Man and I love the interconnectedness of the MCU. It is very rewarding and compelling. Plus, I’m not a purist anyway, so please, change things up. However, as a New Yorker, my love of Spider-Man runs deep, and while I think Holland represents the best parts of the character on the page, there is something about the way he has been constructed as Tony Stark’s heir to Avenging that just feels very forced.

If anything, it just highlights that Peter Parker should have been introduced not as a big MCU Avenger, but as a Defender alongside Daredevil—because Spider-Man doesn’t belong in space or Europe.

Hot take.

He belongs in these New York streets fighting crime and corrupt businessmen, not running up Aunt May’s light bill, and managing life as a working-class kid.

(featured image: Marvel Entertainment)

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Jenelle Evans isn't all that great at maintaining relationships.

She's actually remarkably terrible at it.

It's sort of been a whole thing for pretty much the entire time she's been in the spotlight.

Like, she's had an on-again, off-again relationship with her own mother for years.

It's not great.

When it comes to the rest of the Teen Mom crew, it's the same story -- she used to be close with some cast members, but now she's actively awful towards most of them.

We all know the story about how she was once close enough to Kailyn Lowry that Kailyn bailed her out of jail, and this was back when they weren't making hundreds of thousands of dollars per season.

Jenelle never paid her back, their friendship soured, then she leaked the news that Kail was pregnant with Lux.

She frequently says shady things about Leah Messer and Chelsea Houska, too.

For a long time, it seemed like the only person in the entire Teen Mom universe that she got along with was Briana DeJesus.

But now?

Yep, that's done too.

To be fair, their friendship had been waning for a while -- they haven't hung out in a long time, obviously, but they've said that they've kept up with each other on social media.

However, Jenelle recently unfollowed Briana on social media, so it seems like the last thing they had connecting them to each other is gone.

And it's all because she was just too darn jealous of Briana.

OK, so Jenelle just did an interview with Us Weekly to promote her new podcast, and during the interview she was asked about her relationship with her former Teen Mom 2 costars and whether or not we could expect any of them to make an appearance on the podcast.

She said that she had "some ideas" about reaching out to certain cast members, which will definitely be interesting to see.

She also said "I feel like I don't have bad blood with anybody, but I'm, you know, keeping things civil, not really talking to anybody."

How hilarious is it that she doesn't think she has bad blood with anyone from the show?

Remember that time Kailyn sent her a package of her hair care products and Jenelle set it on fire and posted a video of it on Instagram and then later called her fat?

Does she think those are just normal things that people with no bad blood do to their co-workers?

Back in the interview, Jenelle said that she actually changed her phone number about six months ago, so she hasn't had any contact with anyone from the show for a while.

"I used to follow Briana and she used to follow me on Instagram," she added. "I unfollowed her recently because seeing her film with the crew makes me upset."

She started choking up at this point, and she clarified that she had "no hard feelings" towards Briana, but then she started full-on crying.

"They were like family," she explained through tears. "It's just hard to be part of something when people replace you and you were the original one that helped start that show, and it's hard to be let go from something that you put so much work into."

She was asked if she felt like the firing came at a time when she really needed the support from the crew, and she answered "Yeah, definitely."

"That's why I felt like it was important to continue to film my story and share it on YouTube because I feel like I need to catch people up and show them the true me, and that I wasn't completely a horrible person when we stopped filming."

There's a lot to unpack there, huh?

On one hand, it's sort of sad to hear her so upset about what happened and to know that she's still so bothered by it all that she feels like she can't even follow Briana on Instagram.

On the other hand, she was let go from Teen Mom 2 for choices that she made, and those choices clearly had some pretty big consequences, which is just how things work.

View Slideshow: Jenelle Evans: MTV Never Fired Me! They Should've Fired That Hack Chelsea Houska!

Do you feel bad for Jenelle?

**Godzilla vs. Kong spoilers!**

While watching Godzilla vs. Kong I couldn’t help but think one thing—and no, it wasn’t that Mothra shouldn’t have made a guest return cuz reasons. It was property damage. Maybe it’s a sign that I’m getting old, but the matter still stands. Who pays for the damages done by titans of Earth? Does Monarch cover things? Do governments have a special titans disaster relief fund they’ve all been donating to?

Or maybe Apex Industries, after finding out that they were the ones who built Mechagodzilla, are the ones who have to pay for all damages done by the titans on the ship fleet and in Hong Kong? That’s the only logical explanation in the midst of a fictional movie about titans who take their problems out on each other at human expense.

Take into consideration the first smackdown at the Apex fleet. According to the Congressional Budget Office, which examines Navy costs, each ship could cost about $1.2 billion. And that changes depending on the weight and the model. So imagine how much damage Godzilla did when he sliced through ships like butter with his spikes and his tail?

Oh and imagine the cost of a ship that could carry Kong? That ship has to be in the multiple billions with enough storage for food to keep this bad boy happy. And that doesn’t take into consideration who built those chains and how much material went into making them strong as hell. Did they use vibranium? (Different worlds, but still had me wondering.)

And that doesn’t take into consideration fuel, food, supplies, and more to get these things functional and moving. Then there’s the human cost. How many people were employed on these ships? How much were they paid? What was the situation with help for their families when they didn’t return home?

Now, just to clarify, I don’t want to be a killer of joy, and I certainly enjoyed watching this destructive showdown. This is just how my mind works, and I feel like an old grandma pointing out how much things cost and who’s going to pay for that. But believe it or not, this is fun for me and there’s at least someone in your friend group who thinks the same way.

Then there’s the smackdown in Hong Kong. This city is ranked one of the most expensive cities in the world in which to rent, according to Culture Trip. And the main island, where the financial and commercial districts are and where Godzilla and Kong had their main smackdown, is full of expensive homes and businesses.

And even though upscale residential neighborhoods are located uphill and away from the busiest parts of the city, an apartment in Hong Kong can be around $3,000 to $6,000 a month, according to Asiaxpat. Now imagine the cost of 9,000 high rises with over 4,000 skyscrapers standing taller than 100m (328ft), with 480 buildings above 150 m (492ft)?

That’s exactly where Godzilla, Kong, and Mechagodzilla had their epic battles! When they weren’t shoving each other through buildings, they were using them to swing from one to the next. And when they weren’t doing that, they were using their atomic/laser breath to destroy property from here to kingdom come. And again, what of the lost human lives here and those who may have depended on them? What kind of assistance are they given?

Does that make me feel old that that was the main thing I was thinking about while watching Godzilla vs. Kong? Yes. Will I stop thinking about it now that I’ve done the research? Absolutely not. If anything, I think I’ve gotten more concerned at the structural and economic integrity of these places and who rebuilds them after the titans are done fighting.

(image: HBO Max)

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I was not expecting to see the God of the Underworld on Nailed It!, but I guess stranger things have happened on the charming baking show. Contestants were asked to recreate cupcake statues (go with it) of Greek gods and were presented with a typical bearded man holding lightning as Zeus, a lovely woman as Aphrodite, and … a blue demon as Hades, who host Nicole Byer used a demonic voice to introduce. It was funny but also dismaying because once again the King of the Underworld was being portrayed as a creepy demon and that’s just not accurate at all.

First off, it’s hard to talk about Hades or any God as just one thing. Myths and beliefs shift over time and Hades was worshipped in Greece for centuries and even absorbed into Roman mythology and belief (we’ll get there), so we can’t exactly say Hades is one thing, but there are definitely things he’s not. And the big one I’m concerned with here is … evil.

Hades has been around for a good long while, so there are different beliefs and stories from different eras. But interestingly, Hades is actually not as old as some of the other Greek gods. Yes indeed, prior to the well-known Archaic and Classic age of ancient/Hellenic Greece, there were other eras to Greek history, which included the Mycenaean civilization, which flourished from 1700-1100 BCE, and the Greek “dark ages” from 1100 to maybe 800 BCE.

After the collapse of Mycenaean Greece, there are centuries of history with little to no records (hence a dark age). We know more about the Mycenaean civilization than we do about Greece during those dark ages, including that the Mycenean god of the underworld was … Poseidon. Yeah, that’s right. Hades didn’t exist in Mycenaean Greece and showed up sometime in those dark ages. We don’t really know where he came from before that, but it’s interesting to see his as a relatively new edition to the Greek pantheon in context.

Hades is mysterious in a lot of ways. We don’t even know very well what the name Hades even means or its etymology. Some roughly translate it as “unseen”  and Hades itself has come to mean his rule of the underworld, as well as its ruler. Over time, as Greek culture absorbed gods and from other areas and was in turn adopted by Rome, Hades also became conflated with the potentially separate figures of Aidoneus, as well as the Roman Pluto, who was a god of wealth and the bounty of the earth. Underworld, gold, wealth, jewels, it makes sense.

Hades himself was more of a manager, not a hands-on God and as far as we know, he was invoked for curses and such and paid his due in sacrifices, and may have had a cult. But the main mystery cult we know of associated with the underworld and Hades realm and myths wasn’t Hades himself, but his wife, Persephone, and Mother-in-law/Sister Demeter, as part of the Eleusinian mysteries. He wasn’t a demon, he didn’t punish anyone in the underworld who didn’t deserve it, and he wasn’t cruel.

Hades was the firstborn son of the Titans Rhea and Cronos and was swallowed by his dad along with his sibling until Zeus set them free. After the Olympians defeated the Titans, Hades, Poseidon and Zeus drew lots to see who got to rule what realms, with all of them sort of sharing the earth.

Hades got the underworld, and, yeah, that did make him sort of scary for the Ancient Greeks. He was a Cthonic god, meaning he was spooky, sacrifices were made at night and in the dark and you didn’t really want to attract the attention of him or other gods because, well, ghosts and death and the underworld. But still, he was not dangerous or evil no more than death itself is evil. (Side note, Hades is not the Greek God of the death itself, that would be Thanatos).

Hades and Persephone in Lore Olympus

In fact, the concept of any God being “evil” (or even what we’d now consider morally “good”) doesn’t really fit with Greek religion and myth. All of the Olympian Gods were flawed and spiteful: just look at Zeus’s constant myths involving sexual assault, many a vengeful, murderous God, or you know, the entire Trojan war. The Gods could help people and were powerful, but they were worshipped because they were Gods, not paragons of perfect morality. In general, Hades was one of the better-behaved Gods in Greek myth. Yes, he abducted Persephone, but that was because Zeus said to and their relationship was remarkably functional by Olympian standards.

So why is Hades always portrayed nowadays as a baddie? Well, there are a lot of reasons, including the way we generally fear death, but monotheism and Disney are the big two. Let’s start with monotheism. In Greek translations of the Hebrew Bible, the word “Hades” was used for “Sheol, denoting a dark region of the dead. Tartarus, originally denoting an abyss far below Hades and the place of punishment in the lower world, later lost its distinctness and became almost a synonym for Hades.” Centuries passed, and Christianity, with its focus on hell and demons, became a primary religion, and Hades remains associated with hell and then gets saddled with the idea of Satan/The Devil.

Christianity and its ideas of sin, hell, and one good God eternally punching down against a single evil not-God influences a lot of people’s thinking and popular depictions, and we just … tend to view things in a good/evil binary. That’s why when Greek myths get adapted for modern audiences, the horrible stories of things like sexual assault and the tragic endings brought on by hubris often get sanded away. The heroes become more heroic for our modern sensibilities and to be heroic they need a proper villain. Enter Disney and their take on Hades in 1997’s Hercules.

As a kid’s movie, Hercules is fine, but as an accurate take on mythology, it’s complete garbage. Now, I don’t really begrudge Disney getting rid of the parts of Hercules story where he, for instance, murders his wife and children, but their choice to really lean into making Hades essentially the devil who wants to overthrow the nice shiny gods has resonated throughout the culture. So too has their design of Hades himself as blue and glowing, which is honestly fine and I like that everyone just makes Hades blue now.

I have conflicted feeling about Hades in Hercules. On the one hand, he is by far the most entertaining part of a generally mediocre movie, but actor voice James Woods is a completely terrible person. And as cool as Hades looks, the Disney version of him exemplifies everything wrong with our simplified and often Christianized view of many deities. And that’s a shame because most of these myths and gods are so much more interesting and compelling as they were seen in their time and not as some sanitized version for modern audiences.

When you see Greek gods in the media, they’re generally depicted in a way that matches Christian viewpoints of heaven and hell. Just look at the absolute mess that was 2010’s Clash of the Titans, where Ralph Fiennes’ Hades was, much like the Disney Hades, an apocalyptic baddie. That same year Percy Jackson and The Olympians: The Lightning Thief also made Hades into a fire and brimstone force of darkness and that was one of the many stumbles of that film.

That’s not to say all modern conceptions of Hades are bad. Indeed, many are very good and generally not too satanic. Modern audiences have a lot of different versions of Hades to enjoy, and it should be noted that not all of them make him into a Greek devil-figure. Like his wife Persephone, Hades has been reinvented in many different ways, from the cold and uncaring tyrant of Hadestown to the sort of demonic bad dad who’s actually not so bad antagonist of the videogame Hades (though that underworld is kind of hell-lite from what I can tell), to the sexy, brooding romantic lead of Lore Olympus.

Hades is very much in the consciousness right now, and so while it’s fine if you want to depict him as blue or greedy or whatever, but please don’t think that just because he rules the land of the dead that he’s the same as the Christian devil. And honestly, most of the stuff we associate with the devil and hell also doesn’t have much basis in the actual Bible, but that’s for another post. On Twitter, Alicia T. Crosby has a brilliant thread about the terrible takes currently coming from conservatives about Lil Nas X’s “MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)” video, in which she breaks down how the video addresses Christian religious trauma and subverts oppressive imagery.

Hades, like all deities, is complex and needs to be approached in the right context. None of us are in a hurry to meet him in person, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t have a better understanding of where he came from.

(image: Disney)

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When viewers tuned in to Oprah Winfrey's interview with Meghan Markle earlier this month, they were unsure of what to expect.

But early on, Meghan gave the audience an idea of what sort of event this would be by dropping a bombshell about her long-rumored feud with Kate Middleton.

Meghan revealed that Kate had made her cry in the days before her wedding to Prince Harry.

Previously, the media had reported that it was Meghan who made Kate cry, but the Duchess set the record straight in front of an audience of millions.

When asked about the incident, Meghan informed Oprah that "the reverse happened."

"A few days before the wedding, she was upset about something pertaining—yes, the issue was correct—about flower girl dresses, and it made me cry, and it really hurt my feelings," she elaborated.

Since there was no pushback from Team Kate, it looked as though this might be one of the few segments of Meghan's interview that would remain undisputed.

But now, Kate's obnoxious uncle Gary Goldsmith is speaking out, and he's basically calling Meghan a liar.

“I’ve known Kate since she was born and she doesn’t have a mean bone in her body. It’s just simply not in her nature,” Goldsmith told the Daily Mail this week.

“She’s even lovelier on the inside than on the outside. If anyone had a hissy fit, it must have been Meghan," he added.

Obviously, Goldsmith seems to be harboring some sort of grudge against Meghan.

But he also has a reputation as the most ardent Kate-defender the world has ever known.

And Gary's profoundly creepy obsession with his niece was on full display in his latest Kate-related diatribe.

“Kate would have been trying to make the peace,” he continued.

“I would fight for Kate’s honor until the day I die. She is the most spectacular person I’ve ever met.”

Okay, guy -- no one's asking you to fight to the death for Kate's honor.

We're literally talking about an argument over whether or not a flower girl at a wedding should be made to wear stockings.

There's really no need to go charging into battle over this one.

Clearly, Gary is a ridiculous human being, but the problem is, he's not alone.

Recent polls indicate that Brits really aren't all that thrilled with the Royal Family as an institution, but there are many who still believe a clan of taxpayer-funded figureheads is a good idea.

And the ones who fall into that camp tend to be diehard royalists who share Gary's willingness to die for the most privileged people on the planet.

These are the same folks who raised hell every time Meghan's curtsy didn't pass muster, and now they're doubling down on their claims that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are the worst thing to happen to the British Royal Family since the Declaration of Independence.

Now, these people have found a leader in Gary Goldsmith.

We're sure he'll be joining Meghan's wicked half-sister in trying to make a buck off of this situation any day now.

Anna Duggar took TLC viewers by major surprise on Tuesday night.

No, the 32-year old did not announce she's pregnant with her seventh child, despite incessant speculation these days around the Internet about the state of her womb.

Duggar did, however, make an unexpected return to reality television.

On Tuesday night, the mother of six appeared on the latest episode of Counting On, stopping by the program for the first time in six years.

She had last been seen on TLC air back when the Duggars starred on 19 Kids and Counting, a show that was canceled afterr Anna's husband, Josh Duggar, admitted to having molested his own sisters as a teenager.

In the short scene that featured Anna, she joined mother-in-law Michelle and sisters-in-law Jessa and Joy-Anna as the family made adorable Easter hats with their kids.

Making sure the children didn't burn themselves with glue guns, Anna said at one point:

"It's fun seeing the older ones do it on their own."

Pretty harmless in a vacuum, of course.

But Anna Duggar does not live in a vacuum.

In June of 2013, word broke that Josh had inappropriately touched several women -- including four of his underaged sisters -- back when he was around 15 years old.

The stunning allegations led to the cancellation of 19 Kids & Counting in 2015 after seven years on the air.

“Twelve years ago, as a young teenager, I acted inexcusably for which I am extremely sorry and deeply regret,” Duggar said in a statement around that time.

“I hurt others, including my family and close friends. I confessed this to my parents who took several steps to help me address the situation.

“We spoke with the authorities where I confessed my wrongdoing, and my parents arranged for me and those affected by my actions to receive counseling.

"I understood that if I continued down this wrong road that I would end up ruining my life.”

Not long afterwards, it also came out that Josh had been cheating on Anna with women he met on the adulerty website Ashley Madison.

Cue another mea culpa.

"I have been the biggest hypocrite ever. While espousing faith and family values, and I became unfaithful to my wife," Josh said after he got exposed.

"I am so ashamed of the double life that I have been living and am grieved for the hurt, pain and disgrace my sin has caused my wife and family, and most of all Jesus and all those who profess faith in Him."

Concuded Josh:

I brought hurt and a reproach to my family, close friends and the fans of our show with my actions that happened when I was 14-15 years old, and now I have re-broken their trust.

The last few years, while publicly stating I was fighting against immorality in our country, I was hiding my own personal failings.

As I am learning the hard way, we have the freedom to choose to our actions, but we do not get to choose our consequences. I deeply regret all hurt I have caused so many by being such a bad example.

I humbly ask for your forgiveness. Please pray for my precious wife Anna and our family during this time.

Josh has not been featured in any capacity on TLC since these scandals broke.

Neither had Anna, until this past Tuesday evening, but the multiple-time mother has been heard from more and more of late on social media.

On occasion, she would show off her true MAGA colors and claim Donald Trump won the 2020 election.

On other occasions, she would fuel speculation that she's pregnant yet again.

Now that's been back on the air, meanwhile, there's some concern that Josh may follow.

Would TLC really focus its cameras once more on the admitted child molestor and disloyal husband?

We'll need to stay tuned to find out.

And then never tune in ever again if so.

So much of this season of The Real Housewives of New Jersey has been about one feud.

Bravo is making it clear that there is so much more to come.

There are happy moments, fun moments, sad moments, and a lot of fun to be had.

But in this midseason trailer, things are going sharply downhill in Melissa and Joe Gorga's marriage.

As is customary for reality trailers, the first moments of this are all fun, laughs, music, and partying.

We see dancing, some alleged "twerking," and a fun and celebratory atmosphere.

There's drinking, golf, and some reference to ass-eating. With the exception of the golf, it sounds like fun!

Jennifer Aydin gets a proposal and a gorgeous ring.

Teresa is encouraged to live her best life, romantically speaking.

And Melissa asks intrusive questions about her teenage daughter's sex life.

Antonia responds like any 15-year-old would when asked a question in that judgmental tone.

She storms off and loudly wonders why her mom is being like that, since Melissa made it very clear that she only wanted one answer.

If you want your kids to talk to you, be open to any answer that they might give.

Also? Maybe don't ask on camera. Antonia was in a lose-lose situation.

She says "oh yeah I love boning" and her mom gets mad.

But either answer and she gets social fallout at school.

Up next, is a sad moment as the Giudice and Gorga families mourn grandpa Gorga.

It is an extended, painful part of the trailer as the family pays tearful tribute.

We then see Melissa and Joe acknowledge that "maybe" they are falling apart as a couple.

Teresa has been dating, but her friends all have questions.

For one thing, they want to meet Tre's man, and ask why she hasn't been introducing him to anyone.

That is a fair question ... but when it comes to reality TV, there are lots of good answers.

Milania (who is growing up so quickly!) points out to her mom that she's clearly totally "in love."

Teresa seems entertained by her daughter's assessment.

But is she wrong?

Later, Margaret confronts Jennifer about being "tone deaf," though the topic is unclear.

"It's my tone!" Jennifer retorts.

"If you don't like the music, change the channel, bitch," Jennifer fires back. It's a good quip, but is she right?

Then things get even more confrontational.

Specifically, Joe and Melissa separately have words with Margaret (who looks unrecognizable in her costume).

She called Joe "chauvinistic," and they were both angry about it ... but maybe for different reasons.

"I don’t need anyone calling my husband chauvinistic," Melissa yelled at her castmate.

She explained her outrage: "because whatever you think I'm dealing with, it's probably more."

And then things got worse from there.

"I'm not going to give up what I want to do in life," Melissa is shown telling Joe.

It's unclear what she might be saying next, because what we hear is simply: "You're holding me back."

That feels like trailer trickery cutting out some context, but only time will tell.

Whatever it was, though, Joe was clearly fuming about it.

"Listen, go be whatever you want to be in life," he told his wife.

Joe walked off, declaring: "We're done." Did he mean the conversation, or ... was that more serious than that?

Elsewhere, Dolores and Teresa both make it clear that Melissa and Joe's issues aren't under wraps.

"I know they have things going on in their relationship," confirms Dolores.

Teresa agrees: "They do. Right now, you could say, like, kind of they're broken."

Back in February, Melissa opened up to Page Six about having gone through some real struggles.

"Listen, I’m not gonna deny that we went through a rough, like year-and-a-half," she acknowledged.

"And," Melissa added for context, "I would say it started right before the pandemic."

“I feel like as I become more and more independent in certain ways, it really is a struggle for him," Melissa admitted.

"I hate that," she expressed. "It shouldn’t be a struggle and it really is."

"And we really go through it and we’re very raw and real and honest with it," Melissa concluded. "So you’re going to have to see how that all unfolds. But it’s very real for us."

LaToya Ali may be a newbie this season on Real Housewives of Atlanta, but she is serving up the drama. LaToya has frequently clashed with fellow freshman cast member, Drew Sidora. Fun fact: Kenya Moore cannot stand Drew, either. LaToya has said that Drew’s husband, Ralph Pittman, doesn’t care about her.

During Cynthia Bailey’s rowdy bachelorette party, stripper Bolo came to perform for the ladies. LaToya ended up making out with RHOA co-star Porsha Williams. She also called out Drew for her behavior with Bolo.

There is wild chemistry between Kenya and LaToya. Kenya later told LaToya that she had a crush on her. Kenya isn’t a fan of LaToya hanging with Porsha.

LaToya, dressed as a dead (and very drunk) mermaid, was in rare form at Falynn Guobadia’s Halloween bash. Kenya learned that LaToya told Drew, Porsha, Marlo Hampton, and Shamea Morton details about Kenya’s divorce from Marc Daly. Kenya was furious and doesn’t trust LaToya. Duh. LaToya explained that her new-found friendship with Porsha puts her in a tough position.

LaToya quizzed Porsha about the issues between Porsha and Kenya. Porsha was shocked that LaToya revealed Kenya’s personal information without a second thought. Porsha just wasn’t feeling it. During the most recent RHOA episode, the peaches hit New Orleans for a girls’ trip. LaToya wasn’t drinking, yet she continued to spar with her co-stars. LaToya is thirsty.

RELATED: LaToya Ali Claps Back At Falynn Guobadia For Accusing Her Of Faking Sick To Skip Real Housewives Of Atlanta Reunion

Porsha, LaToya, and Kandi Burruss discussed the state of Porsha and LaToya’s friendship on The Real Housewives of Atlanta After Show. Porsha was confused by LaToya’s behavior at the Halloween party. Same here. “I don’t know. I just could not get Toya,” Porsha said. “Like I’m looking her in her eyes, and I’m like ‘Are you okay?'”

Porsha continued, “She just kept saying, ‘It’s because of you. You’re in between our friendship…’ and I’m like ‘Are you okay? Like do you even hear what you’re saying?'” Porsha remarked. “Like it wasn’t really making sense to me.”

RELATED: Falynn Guobadia Addresses Fight With LaToya Ali At Halloween Party; Says You’ll “Only Be Criticized By Someone Who Is Doing Less”

It sounds like Porsha isn’t going to be LaToya’s bestie. “At that moment is when I realized I gotta give up on trying to have a genuine friendship with her because it’s only going to be surface,” Porsha shared. “The girl is…is not there when it comes to friendship. She just doesn’t get it.”

According to LaToya, her friendship with Kenya is causing  her problems with her RHOA cast members. “Porsha and I are cool. It’s awkward because I feel like I have to have Kenya’s back. If she has a problem with one of the girls, no matter my relationship with the girl, and it’s kind of unfair to me,” LaToya stated.

RELATED: Drew Sidora Insinuates LaToya Ali And Kenya Moore “Are In A Relationship”

“Like I just don’t want to be looked at as, ‘Oh, Kenya’s friend.’ I want to be an individual, and I want to be able to make my own decisions, which I’ve been trying,” the YouTube star explained. “But I just feel like, you know, Kenya and I are close, and I don’t want to hurt her. So, it’s kind of difficult for me.” LaToya needs to choose between Kenya and Porsha.

RELATED: Porsha Williams Says Kenya Moore’s Butt Is Fake

“So, I just feel like Kenya and Porsha need to hash out their differences because enough is enough,” LaToya said. “It’s been a long time, and it’s like they just need to talk about like what the heck is going on.” Kandi had the same reaction in the video clip that I did. She laughed. Good luck with that, LaToya.

TELL US- IS LATOYA ALIENATING EVERYONE? DO YOU WANT HER TO COME BACK NEXT SEASON?

[Photo Credit: Bravo]

The post Porsha Williams Has Given Up On Trying To Have A Genuine Friendship With LaToya Ali And Says “It’s Only Going To Be Surface;” LaToya Says She And Porsha “Are Cool” appeared first on Reality Tea.

Wyatt Russell, who plays John Walker on the Disney+ series, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, got the reaction I’m sure he expected when the world saw him take on the shield and become the new Captain America. While the memes have been fun, what I think is actually really interesting is how much our vision of Steve and Captain America himself is wrapped up in Chris Evans’s optics and the charm he brought to that role.

Captain America: The First Avenger may not have been a perfect film, but what it did really well was illustrated to the audience that Steve was the perfect human to be given the power of the super serum. I mean, it is one thing to be told he was good enough to hold Mjǫllnir, but we truly believe it because of who we know Steve to be: a good guy who fights bullies. Regardless of who they are.

Which raises the question: who is John Walker?

“There’s elements to him where he wants to be able to do it without the super soldier serum. Just be that good,” Russell told The Wrap. “He does have those ideas in his head of wanting people to like him, like his version of Captain America. It sort of gets rained on and causes him to have to rethink how things are going to be done.”

In the comics, Walker has a whole backstory. Still, I don’t want to dive into that because, frankly, my unease about the character is less about the comic book origins and more about how we have been asked to unpack the relationship between the MCU (and frankly, most media) and the American military. Many films have government contracts, but Marvel movies have large ties to the military. Even Captain Marvel was used as part of the Air Force recruitment (all while never addressing the sexism and violence female pilots have had to deal with in their Air Force).

During the second episode, we get a proper look at Walker and find out, via an interview with real-life journalist Sara Haines, that Walker is the “first person in American history to receive three Medals of Honor. Ran RS1 missions in counter-terrorism and hostage rescue.”

Walker is military excellence in a way Steve never truly was. Remember, Steve was turned down repeatedly and was first used as a superficial figurehead, then an actual soldier initially following his glow-up. Not to mention, he served during WWII against Nazis and before American exceptionalism and the American military-industrial complex became a thing. A thing his (lol) contemporary President Dwight D. Eisenhower warned against. Steve joined and served right before the American eye became the world’s Watchtower. That is why we can see Steve’s Captain America as not just a force of military American exceptionalism, but a force for good that happens to wear that particular costume.

So when Walker says he wants to be the best “Captain America” he can be, does he understand that for Steve being Captain America was not just acting in best for America, but the good of others because when you have the power, you should use it altruistically?

“The military man of World War II is just very different than the military man in today’s age. They just operate differently; the PR machine operates differently. There’s many more opinions about what military should be what their roles should be in the world,” Russell continued. “[Walker’s] a little bit of a guy who’s just been good at doing his job. And he’s done this to serve and protect, based on some of the things that Steve did, and feels like he just wants to do the job but people aren’t necessarily willing to accept him as the person to do it.”

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier has a great opportunity to explore what American exceptionalism looks like, how it ties into our military, and what it means to be a hero but with a government overseer.

(image: Marvel)

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Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star Jen Shah has had an interesting couple of days. RHOSLC viewers are used to seeing Jen acting extra and exhibiting volatile behavior. She had a melt-down in Las Vegas and was up in Whitney Rose’s face. And her bestie Heather Gay has claimed that Jen isn’t acting up for the cameras. She’s just being her delightful self.

Recently, audio leaked of Jen allegedly screaming at her Shah squad and dress designer Koa Johnson. In one audio clip, Jen shouted “I’m gonna beat the shit outta you in like two seconds.” Jen later refuted claims that she was verbally abusive to her staff. She also sent cease and desist letters to the two Instagram accounts that shared the leaked audio. Jen even supposedly fat-shamed her most loyal ally, Heather.

Now the HBIC of RHOSLC has landed herself in legal trouble. This is a shocker. On March 30, 2021 Jen and her assistant, Stuart Smith, were arrested because of their involvement in a telemarketing scheme. They are both facing federal charges of money laundering and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

In a statement, Manhattan U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said, “Jennifer Shah, who portrays herself as a wealthy and successful businessperson on ‘reality’ television, and Stuart Smith, who is portrayed as Shah’s ‘first assistant,’ allegedly generated and sold ‘lead lists’ of innocent individuals for other members of their scheme to repeatedly scam.” She continued, “In actual reality and as alleged, the so-called business opportunities pushed on the victims by Shah, Smith, and their co-conspirators were just fraudulent schemes, motivated by greed, to steal victims’ money.” According to the NYPD, Jen and Stuart operated the scam for 9 years, and left “hundreds” of people victimized. That is deplorable.

RELATED: Jen Shah Arrested For Money Laundering And Fraud Scheme That Allegedly Targeted Elderly

Since RHOSLC is filming Season 2 now, will Jen’s arrest be part of the show? Two Judgey Girls received an anonymous tip about Jen’s arrest. (Warning-there is rough grammar ahead.) The account tweeted, “They’re filming today because the ladies are going to CO on a cast trip this morning. All the sudden, Jen had to leave filming quickly because of an emergency with her husband. 5 minutes later swat and the feds were there looking for her.”

Two Judgey Girls shared even more tea. When Jen wasn’t at home, agents located the van. “The cast and producers said she got a call and had her aunt come pick her up from where they pulled over. She lied to everyone and said her husband was in the hospital. It was her husband who called her to let her know she was getting arrested.” Wow. “The film crew filmed [blank] and two other agents walking up to the van, searching the van, and talking to producers. They have a ping in Jen’s phone so they got a hold of her in the car with her aunt and arrested Jen on side of road,” Two Judgey Girls tweeted. “She’s being very very calm. Lisa [Barlow], Whitney and Heather were in the van.”

RELATED: Andy Cohen Reacts To Leaked Audio Of Jen Shah Berating Her Employees

According to TMZ, Jen was arrested in a strip mall parking lot. So, cameras didn’t capture Jen’s actual arrest, but the juicy story will reportedly be part of RHOSLC Season 2.
Jen had better get some tips from Real Housewives of New Jersey star Teresa Giudice about how to look Shah-mazing behind bars. The conspiracy to commit money laundering charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years. The conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with telemarketing through which they victimized 10 or more persons over the age of 55 carries a maximum sentence of 30 years.

TELL US- ARE YOU SHOCKED BY JEN’S ARREST? SHOULD BRAVO FIRE HER?

[Photo Credit: Bravo]

The post Jen Shah Reportedly Tipped Off About Arrest While Filming Real Housewives Of Salt Lake City appeared first on Reality Tea.

Rochelle Hager, a rising social media star who posted on TikTok under the user name "@roeurboat3," was killed on Monday while driving in Maine.

She was 31 years old.

The tragedy took place as the result of a freak accident, too, as described in more detail below...

According to numerous reports and outlets, Hager was behind the wheel in the town of Farmington when winds were gusting at more than 50 miles per hour.

In a press release sent out a day after the incident, Farmington Police Chief Kenneth Charles said these high winds toppled the limb of a pine tree -- which then fell onto the roof of the 2015 Nissan Rogue Hager was driving.

Charles confirmed to a local newspaper that Hager was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash and was likely killed instantly.

After the impact, the vehicle appeared to have crossed the centerline and came to a rest in the northbound lane.

Hager was the only occupant of the car and no other vehicles were involved, added Charles, who called the incident “tragic and unique.”

There was “nothing she could do to avoid it," said the Chief.

Over the past few months, Hager had developed a loyal following on TikTok with her unique videos.

She had more than 130,000 followers and accumulated approximately 1.2 million Likes on the platform at thhe time of her passing.

Brittanie Lynn Ritchie, who was engaged to Hager, said everything “happened really quick," adding:

“She has a phone mounted in her vent. I just heard a crash, and then there was nothing.

"She didn’t see the tree coming. It was instant...

"We were getting married October 16 -- we had already gotten the venue and photographer and everything."

Ritchie added a tribute to her late fiancee on TikTok as well.

"I can't eat or sleep," she wrote. "All I can do is make videos and wish you were here with me #rip #myangel."

The couple had confirmed they were planning a wedding while celebrating Valentine's Day.

Ritchie also said on Tuesday that Hager was 10 years sober and a survivor of addiction.

“She was a huge advocate for addiction and she survived it and was clean for over 10 years,” Ritchie said. “When she got through that, she went to culinary school in Florida. She was amazing."

After vising the crash site, Ritchie concluded:

"Thank you all so much for keeping her memory alive and reaching out.

"Thank you for showing me what true love is. I love you forever."

We guess what Maci Bookout is doing could be described as "kicking a man while he's down" 

But since the man in question is Ryan Edwards, we don't think anyone will fault her for it.

As you've probably heard, Ryan and his family were fired from Teen Mom OG last week, and it looks as though Maci was the one who made it happen.

Ryan had been engaging in all sorts of atrocious behavior, and his family had been enabling him every step of the way.

There was even a point at which Ryan's parents, Jen and Larry Edwards, told Bentley that they would always side with Ryan, thus confirming to the 12-year-old what he had probably been suspecting for years:

Namely, that he has no allies on his father's side of the family.

Anyway, Maci appeared on Kailyn Lowry's podcast this week, and it wasn't long before the subject of Ryan came up.

First, Maci casually talked about her kids and her husband.

And if Ryan was listening to that portion of the podcast, he probably wasn't happy with what he heard.

Asked how Bentley refers to his stepdad, Taylor McKinney, Maci reveals that the kid employs a variety of nicknames -- one of which is Dad.

"Sometimes [Bentley will] call [Taylor] T-Money, sometimes he'll call him Taylor," Maci said.

"Sometimes - it's not extremely often - but if he's talking to the younger kids he'll just call him Dad," she added.

"If it's just us adults and Bentley, it's usually T-Money."

Something tells us that Ryan won't be consoled that "it's usually T-Money."

He's much more likely to zero in on the fact that Bentley sometimes calls his stepfather Dad.

From there, the topic turned to Maci's future on the show.

She and her husband are absolutely raking it in these days, but at the same time, Maci's eldest is soon to enter his teens, and it's anyone's guess how he'll be affected by reality TV stardom.

"Back in the day, I'd always say as long as I feel like I'm helping people or showing them they are not alone or they're not crazy, then I would keep doing it," Maci told Kail and her co-host, Vee Rivera.

"As the kids get older, it's definitely a season by season thing," she continued.

Side-stepping the money issue entirely, Maci claimed that she's drawn to the show because she finds it useful as a tool for self-reflection.

That's obviously BS, but at least it's compelling BS!

"At this point, selfishly, I feel like the show opens my eyes to me—what I need to work on, what I need to face myself. It's just a good reflective tool that most people don't have," Bookout said.

As for her relationship with Ryan, Maci says it's non-existent, and she's hoping to keep it that way.

"I've always co-parented with his parents," Maci explained.

"Our relationship, really for a long time now, I want to say since Bentley was young, our relationship—the extent of it—has honestly just been the show," she added.

"I can tell you I probably lay eyes on Ryan and have for years and years maybe a handful of times a year. It's not a thing really."

And now Maci won't even have to lay eyes on Ryan when she watches Teen Mom OG!

Now THAT'S how you cut someone out of your life!

Welcome to the fifth day of our My Hero Academia cosplay celebration! In honor of season five bringing us back to U.A. High, we’ve been featuring cosplayers and geeking out about what we can’t wait to see in the new season!

Season 5 of My Hero Academia is airing over on Funimation right now, which you can check out right over here! The first four seasons are also available (dubbed and subbed) in case you need to catch up. In case you’re new to My Hero Academia, you can check out this nifty write-up that delves into what the series is all about (and why I talk about it so much). You can also check out my review of the first episode of season 5 here.

Oh, and Funimation is sharing the features, too, along with the official My Hero Academia Twitter account!

gracie (rei)

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by rei (@ar.min.arlert)

What inspired you to cosplay the character you’re cosplaying? 

The character (Shoto Todoroki) himself.

What are you looking forward to with season 5?

Seeing all of the characters in action.

What are some of your favorite My Hero Academia moments? I know there’s a lot, but try and keep it at three?

Deku vs Todoroki during the Sports Festival.

Social media time! Tell us where we can find you! Give me as many links as you want. Twitter? TikTok? Patreon? I want it all!

TikTok

Instagram

Friday

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Xiaos Wife 👺💙 (@ratasticcosplays)

What inspired you to cosplay the character you’re cosplaying? 

I’ve related to Bakugo and his immense growth and characterization. He’s such an in-depth and complex character!

What are you looking forward to with season 5?

I’m mostly looking forward to new character interactions and getting to see my faves again!

What are some of your favorite My Hero Academia moments? I know there’s a lot, but try and keep it at three?

Gosh so many moments in the series but a definite fave continues to be All Might giving Deku his powers and continuing to believe in this poor boy no matter what!

Social media time! Tell us where we can find you! Give me as many links as you want. Twitter? TikTok? Patreon? I want it all!

Linktree

Kam

 

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A post shared by 🌟Kam🌟 (@kamochaco)

What inspired you to cosplay the character you’re cosplaying? 

Mirko is one of my favorite characters. I admire her strength and determination! And she’s gorgeous!

What are you looking forward to with season 5?

Definitely the joint training with Class 1A and 1B. And more Hawks!

What are some of your favorite My Hero Academia moments? I know there’s a lot, but try and keep it at three?

Two of them are from the Sports Festival: Uraraka vs. Bakugo and Todoroki vs. Deku. The third is Class 1A’s festival performance when Eri smiled for the first time. It always makes me cry!

Social media time! Tell us where we can find you! Give me as many links as you want. Twitter? TikTok? Patreon? I want it all!

TikTok

Instagram

Twitter

Meliamor1412

 

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A post shared by Mel (@meliamor.cos)

What inspired you to cosplay the character you’re cosplaying? 

Mirio is my favorite character and he has been a huge inspiration to follow my dreams and never give up no matter what, so I’ve started working towards my dream and learning to be a voice actor.

What are you looking forward to with season 5?

Shinsou!

What are some of your favorite My Hero Academia moments? I know there’s a lot, but try and keep it at three?

It’s a manga spoiler but it involves, you guessed it, Mirio!

Social media time! Tell us where we can find you! Give me as many links as you want. Twitter? TikTok? Patreon? I want it all!

Instagram

TikTok

Ko-fi

—

That’s it for today’s features! See everyone tomorrow. PLUS ULTRA!

(Image: gracie (rei), Friday, Kam, and Meliamor1412)

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—The Mary Sue has a strict comment policy that forbids, but is not limited to, personal insults toward anyone, hate speech, and trolling.—