Viraldice

Ashley Cain has provided fans with a heart-shattering update on how he's feeling at the moment.

The former Challenge cast member and professional soccer player lost his 8-month-old daughter, Azaylia Diamond, last week after she had been diagnosed with cancer in October.

A week after this unimaginable loss, Cain is still reeling from her passing.

For the most understandable of reasons, of course.

"I wanted to take this time to give thanks for all the love, care and support for Azaylia throughout her battle and still now for us as a family," Cain wrote to open his lengthy Instagram message.

"I am broken and hurting more and more everyday right now," he added.

This past fall, the 30-year old reality star revealed that Azaylia had been diagnosed with a "very rare and aggressive form" of leukemia, a blood cancer.

Over the subsequent few months, the infant went through treatments in the hospital, as Cain kept followers apprised of her condition.

Tragically, he, girlfriend Safiyya Vorajee and their doctors were unable to save the little girl.

Wrote Cain a few days ago, following his daughter's passing:

"Rest In Paradise Princess 👼🏼🌈I will always hold you in my heart until I can hold you again in heaven ❤️😢 #AzayliaDiamondCain."

On Saturday, Cain made no secret of the horrible pain he continues to endure.

Cain wrote that he "made a promise to my daughter that I would keep her name alive by continuing to help other children, adults and their families during their own battles and I will honor that promise until I see her again.

Similarly, on her own Instagram Story, Vorajee uploaded a photograph of the pair's late daughter, writing "so beautiful I think about you all day and night," adding:

"Trying to get myself out of bed in the morning has never felt so hard.

"The pain that hits me when I open my eyes is unbearable, I just want this all to be a dream."

In February, Cain said his family was "urgently informed that Azaylia's leukemia had returned," mere moments before she was due to leave the hospital after a stem-cell transplantation.

Shortly before her Azaylia's death, Cain was told to "make the most" of his time with his daughter by physicians who told him that the baby was nearing her final days.

The MTV personality went on to post images of Azaylia eating from her high chair and going for walks in her stroller.

Common, everyday occurrences -- that took on extra special, sentimental and sad meaning for her parents.

On Friday, Vorajee also reflected on the heartbreak she can't shake.

"1 week today this was all happening," she wrote alongside photo of her and her baby together.

"You are so incredible Azaylia, you have changed My life.

"Honestly I feel so proud of you, I am lost without you but I [know] your with me close all the time."

Added Cain a week ago, paying tribute to Azaylia by addressing her directly:

"I can’t put into words my sadness and pain, there aren’t words to describe it.

"I love you with every ounce of my body and I miss you so much already. You made me a better man. You made me the person I’ve always wanted to be.

"You’ve taught me more in your 8 months than I’ve learned my whole life.'

We’ve been psyched for the Ms. Marvel television series since it was first announced. The Disney+ series will follow the adventures of Kamala Khan, a Pakistani-American teen from New Jersey who can stretch her limbs and shape-shift, among other powers. Khan, who is played by newcomer Iman Vellani, will be the first onscreen Muslim hero for Marvel as the studio moves into its most diverse phase yet.

This week, photos surfaced of Vellani in her superhero costume:

🚨 First look at Iman Vellani’s Kamala Khan Ms. Marvel suit!

Source: https://t.co/IdSftb9MR8 pic.twitter.com/KsFLvaDjiy

— Ms. Marvel News (@MsMarvelNews) May 1, 2021

The colors! The sneakers! The pattern! This costume is very accurate to the one in the comics, and suits (hehe) the hero. Fans online quickly expressed their excitement for the look and the series:

Inspire! The colors, the shoulders and knee pads! The Marvels! Captain Marvel and Ms.Marvel interactions will be the BEEEST! pic.twitter.com/fCWrviHoLV

— 💫 Captain Marvel NEWS (@CaptMarvelNews) May 1, 2021

OUR MS MARVEL OH MY GOD pic.twitter.com/bfvgYiRzxn

— ken (@wandaslizzie) May 1, 2021

Disney+’s costume designers are on another level. #MsMarvel pic.twitter.com/3gJrfQwp2z

— Painful Gamer (@painfulgamer1) May 1, 2021

The Ms. Marvel suit is the definition of perfection pic.twitter.com/7gPJe2QEEy

— Walt (@UberKryptonian) May 1, 2021

Ms. Marvel is expected to hit Disney+ later this year. Vellani is also expected to appear in Captain Marvel 2, which is set to premiere in November 2022.

(via JustJared, image: Marvel)

• Battlestar Galactica is bisexual culture, I don’t make the rules. (via Autostraddle)
• A deep dive into Marvel’s handling of race in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. (via io9)
• The hilarious Robin Thede talks about the new season of A Black Lady Sketch Show. (via Shadow and Act)

RIP Olympia Dukakis, the Oscar winner best known for her roles in Moonstruck and Steel Magnolias.

Olympia Dukakis Was an Amazing,Academy Award Winning Actress.Olympia Played My Mom In Moonstruck,& Even Though Her Part was
That Of a Suffering Wife, We😂ALL The Time.She Would Tell Me How MUCH She Loved Louis,Her”Handsome Talented,Husband”.I Talked To Her 3Wks Ago. Rip Dear One pic.twitter.com/RcCZaeKFmz

— Cher (@cher) May 1, 2021

• Release the Green Lantern cut! (via CBR)
• Emily VanCamp on the future of Sharon Carter in the MCU. (via Collider)
• Hugh Jackman shares some Deadpool 3 advice with Ryan Reynolds. (via THR)

10/10 would watch:

I’ll just leave this here pic.twitter.com/PLxVIrcueP

— Rachel, Esq. (@thebgcomplex) May 1, 2021

Happy May Day, Sue Believers!

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The post Things We Saw Today: Iman Vellani’s Ms. Marvel Costume Looks Amazing first appeared on The Mary Sue.

CONTENT WARNING: This post discusses sexual harassment and misconduct.

A new bombshell report from The Guardian accuses actor-director Noel Clarke of being a sexual predator. 20 women came forward with stories of their experiences working with Clark, which catalogue a disturbing pattern of behavior that includes groping, sexual harassment, sexual misconduct, and bullying. The story broke just weeks after Clarke was awarded the prize for Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA).

Clarke, best known to audiences as Mickey Smith in Doctor Who, which he appeared in from 2005-2010. He is also known for his roles in the Hood trilogy, Kidulthood (2006), Adulthood (2008) and Brotherhood (2016). Clarke also founded Unstoppable Entertainment, a production company that prioritizes diverse voices.

Clarke is accused of taking secret videos of actresses during nude auditions, as well as sharing sexually explicit photos and videos with his co-workers. The womens’ stories detail a pattern of Clarke aggressively pursuing sexual relationships with them, exploiting them on-set, and then bullying them into silence when they rejected his advances.

Sick & tired of this. Men who abuse women's rights & bodies. A patriarchal culture that still supports it. Women's fear of speaking up. Punishment when they do. Eliminating millennia of misogynistic power starts with how we, as a society, raise our sons.https://t.co/6xJJsgcI0r

— Bernardine Evaristo (@BernardineEvari) May 1, 2021

Clarke has responded to the allegations by releasing a statement which read, “In a 20-year career, I have put inclusivity and diversity at the forefront of my work and never had a complaint made against me,” Clarke said in a statement. “If anyone who has worked with me has ever felt uncomfortable or disrespected, I sincerely apologize. I vehemently deny any sexual misconduct or wrongdoing and intend to defend myself against these false allegations.”

BAFTA has rescinded their award and Clarke’s membership since the story broke, with a statement reading “We are grateful that The Guardian was able to provide a platform where the victims were able to identify themselves, and to come forward and tell their stories. As soon as The Guardian published firsthand accounts yesterday we immediately suspended the award and Noel Clarke’s membership of BAFTA until further notice.” 

But The Guardian revealed that just 13 days before the awards took place, BAFTA had already been informed of the allegations, but decided to proceed with the award anyway. BAFTA chair Krishnendu Majumdar was initially sympathetic to Clarke’s accusers, but demanded to speak to survivors firsthand. Apparently, reports from multiple women pale in comparison to a man’s reputation. “We could be ruining an innocent man’s career,” he said. “Whereas if we think on the balance of probabilities, we’ve heard a bit more testimony, we could say, ‘Well, we have to stop this award this weekend and look into this further.’”

In a prepared statement published on Deadline, a BAFTA spokesperson said, “In the days following the announcement, BAFTA received anonymous emails of allegations in relation to Noel Clarke. These were either anonymous or second or thirdhand accounts via intermediaries. No firsthand allegations were sent to us. No names, times, dates, productions or other details were ever provided.”

The backlash against BAFTA has been swift, with British politicians calling for answers and accountability.

If @BAFTA gave Noel Clarke an ‘outstanding contribution award’ despite knowing about the allegations against him then there are serious questions that need answering immediately. https://t.co/RJMLIP2VhF

— Alex Davies-Jones MP (@AlexDaviesJones) April 29, 2021

'Was BAFTA right to honour Noel Clarke if they were aware of these sexual allegations?'

Safeguarding Minister Victoria Atkins tells LBC organisations need to look very carefully at the 'conduct and behaviour' of people they are giving awards to.@NickFerrariLBC pic.twitter.com/uzaveDuMC7

— LBC (@LBC) April 30, 2021

Also weighing in was Michaela Coel, the writer/director/star of I May Destroy You, which tells the story of Coel’s own sexual assault. She tweeted “I am here to offer great support for the 20 brave women who have come forward; those who have shared their identities with us, but also those who have preferred to use an alias; the mental hurdles a Black woman must overcome to do such a thing as reveal their identity within a narrative of rape abuse or bullying at the hands of someone [within] our own community can sometimes be too much.”

pic.twitter.com/yxEnyikXEW

— Michaela Coel (@MichaelaCoel) April 30, 2021

Award-winning director Sally El Hosaini, on of the women who warned BAFTA of Clarke’s behavior, emphasized the need for organizations like BAFTA to believe women. “The institutionalised inertia towards women who speak up needs to stop,” she said. “Because remaining silent and looking the other way enables abuse.”

(via The Guardian, image: Tristan Fewings/Getty Images)

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The post Doctor Who Actor Noel Clarke Accused of Sexual Harassment, Misconduct, and Bullying first appeared on The Mary Sue.

SPOILER/CONTENT ALERT: This article discusses the first 3 episodes of season 4, as well as sexual assault and violence.

It’s been 20 months since the season 3 finale of The Handmaid’s Tale, which ended with a wounded June (Elisabeth Moss) being carried through the forest by her fellow handmaids. In that time, so much has happened: a new president, an attempted insurrection, and a global pandemic that has irreparably changed our lives. When The Handmaid’s Tale premiered in April 2017, it coincided with the first 100 days of Donald’s Trump’s administration, offering a disturbingly prescient parallel between Gilead and the beginning of Trump’s cruel authoritarian regime.

But with Biden in office and the beginning of the end of the pandemic on the horizon, what does the future hold for The Handmaid’s Tale? And after such a brutal and violent 2020, do viewers even have an appetite for the trauma and misery porn the prestige series trafficks in?

When we last left her, June had successfully pulled off Angel’s Flight, smuggling 86 children and a handful of Marthas out of Gilead to find amnesty in Canada. Season 4, which premiered the first three episodes this week on Hulu, picks up immediately where season 3 left off, with June and the renegade handmaids hiding out on a rural farmstead. The farm is owned by the feeble Commander Keyes, who has given over much of his duties to his 14 year old wife, Esther (Captain Marvel’s McKenna Grace), whose emotions swing between helping the handmaids and verbally abusing them.

Esther idolizes June and confesses that not only did her husband rape her, but he invited in Guardians and Eyes to rape her as well. Sexual violence is a cornerstone of Gilead, and the series has never shied away from that fact. Introducing Esther as a surrogate daughter for June gives the series some rich new territory to explore, especially given June’s mission to rescue her own daughter Hanna from Gilead.

But June’s maternal instincts turn violent when the handmaids capture one of the guards who assaulted Esther. June gives the girl a knife and whispers “make me proud” as she leaves the girl to slaughter her attacker. It’s a chilling scene, followed by the aftermath where Esther crawls into bed with June and they spoon. June even calls her “banana”, her nickname for Hanna.

Is The Handmaid’s Tale slowly turning June into a villain? Her scenes with Esther border on monstrous, yet we are continually reminded that Gilead is infinitely more cruel and more violent than the renegade handmaid. June may be the leader of the rebellion, but she is not immune to self-aggrandizing, making mistakes, and causing the deaths of those who help her.

There are rich and fresh narratives to be mined from these new power dynamics and June’s rebellion. Unfortunately, they’re squandered by a series that can’t help but recycle plot points and trauma. When June is recaptured in episode three, we’re thrown into an hour’s worth of torture, both physical and emotional. The episode, which is directed by Elisabeth Moss, is brutalizing to watch. But thanks to June’s God-tier plot immunity, we know she won’t die (although people in Gilead have been executed for much less). The rest of the cast aren’t so lucky.

So what’s the point then, of the waterboarding and beatings? To reinforce the idea that Gilead is horrific? Yeah, we know. We’ve had three seasons of it. At this point, it’s just misery porn for misery’s sake. The series remains stunning to watch: gorgeous cinematography, brilliant lighting, and devastating performances by its talented cast. But in rehashing the same plot points, the series fails to grow and evolve.

The Handmaid’s Tale finds itself in the same quandary as The Walking Dead, another long-running genre series powered by relentless bleakness. Eventually, audiences will grow tired of the repetition, of the senseless killing off of fan-favorite characters. In a recent interview with the Hollywood Reporter, showrunner Bruce Miller promised “a cathartic experience” coming for the audience.

Catharsis for The Handmaid’s Tale? We’ll believe it when we see it.

(image: Jasper Savage/Hulu)

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The post Gird Your Loins: The Handmaid’s Tale Returns to Traumatize Us All Over Again first appeared on The Mary Sue.

Simply put?

Welll said, Jacob and Isabel Roloff.

So very well said, indeed.

Even if you are not a regular celebrity gossip follower, you've likely heard by now that Josh Duggar was arrested on Wednesday on two charges of child pornography possession.

Due to the infamy of his family and the heinous nature of this alleged crime, the story has gone national, with outlets such as CNN reporting on Duggar's supposed misdeeds.

According to legal documents and what we've gathered from Josh's court hearing on Friday, the 33-year old father of six is accused of downloading images of underage children in May 2019.

At least one of these images was of a minor under the age of 12.

Josh, who is expecting baby number-seven with his wife, Anna, remains in custody.

He's being held without bail and will not be permitted around his children even if/when he does make bond after a follow-up hearing on May 5.

It's a truly horrifying situation, especially when you consider that Josh admitted in 2015 to having inappropriately touched five little girls when he was a 14-year old.

Two of those victims were his own sisters.

TLC canceled the show 19 Kids and Counting after this information became public... but the network later aired a spinoff titled Counting On, which has now been on for 11 seasons.

Josh has never appeared on the spinoff.

However, executives are still profiting off his family name and still filling the bank account of his parents, Jim Bob and Michelle.

These polarizing parents of 19 allegedly helped cover up Josh's molestation scandal back in the day because they neverr contacted the authorities about their son's behavior.

Instead, the simply enrolled Josh in some sort of mysterious counseling program... which was run by a family friend.

Describing it as "one of the darkest times our family has ever gone through," Jim Bob told Fox News six years ago that he and his wife put supposed safeguards.

To make sure nothing else happened with their oldest child, that is.

"We watched him like all the time," Jim Bob told Megyn Kelly back then.

"I took him to work with me," he said.

"We just poured our life into him."

This is all relevant again now for the most unfortunate of reasons. Late Friday, TLC released the following statement in response to Josh's arrest:

“TLC is saddened to learn about the continued troubles involving Josh Duggar."

"19 Kids and Counting has not aired since 2015."

"TLC canceled the show on the heels of prior allegations against Josh Duggar and he has not appeared on air since then.”

For Jacob and Isabel Roloff, however, two people who have experience with this cable network, such a statement was a giant crock of BS.

Both halves of this couple shared social media posts that slammed TLC for acting as if it had nothing at all to do with the Duggars anymore.

Jacob and Isabel, for example, each reposted a message that included the new press release about Duggar.

The release said he's been accused of “receiving and possessing material depicting the sexual abuse of children.”

This same message (below) trashed the familly for having basically claimed in the past that it would "pray" away these types of sins.

Wth the help of Jacob and Isabel, many Tweets of this nature went viral yesterday.

“Until his arrest yesterday, Josh Duggar was living [in] a family compound full of minor children. This is after he’d molested some of his sisters years ago,” one part read.

“The Duggar family continued to have a show on TLC."

Yes, exactly.

Jacob highlighted the last sentence and emphasized it to his followers:

Continued to have a show on TLC.

Isabel, for her part, showed support by screengrabbing Roloff’s message and writing her own caption via Instagram Stories, adding:

“Repost my husband."

TLC producers can try to hide behind the fact that they kicked Josh off the air years ago.

But they've continued to provide both a platform and a hefty paycheck to other members of the family.

A family that turned a blind eye to multiple past scandals (molestation, infidelity, etc.) involving this same, despicable human being.

It's perhaps worth remembering that Jacob went public in December with his own accusation of sexual misconduct.

He called out a TLC producer by name in a lengthy Instagram post.

Jacob alleged that this person had molested him back when he was a cast member on Little People, Big World.

It's unknown at this time just what happened to this producer and just how the network handled the controversy.

What should be very clear, though, is what TLC does from here.

It needs to cancel Counting On immediately.

It needs to distance itself as much as possible from the Duggars.

It needs to stop rewarding parents whose possessive, controlling and narcissistic nature helped contribute to this ongoing, massive and horribly abusive scandal. 

As it stands now, the network is essentially bankrolling a cult.

Television is a character’s medium. Unlike movies, which have to begin and end their heroes’ journeys in roughly 2 hours (give or take a Snyder cut), television allows hours and hours of character development to unfold, offering us nuanced, well rounded, and highly relatable protagonists. If movies are often one-person shows, then television relies on a reparatory ensemble of actors that flesh out the show’s universe. We have our supporting cast, namely the friends, family, and romantic interest of the protagonist. Then we have recurring characters, i.e. the parents visiting from out of town, or the boss’s boss.

And then we have those bit characters, often built around a single joke, that pop in throughout a show’s run. These characters poke fun at the world of the series, and often function as a yardstick to measure the show’s progress. Consider Rickety Cricket on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia or Brandi Maxxx on Parks and Rec, or Bob Vance in The Office. These day players consistently show up, make us laugh, only to disappear by the next commercial break.

We’re always happy to see them and delight in their references, like an inside joke the series shares with their viewers. In honor of these joke machines, we’ve rounded up our favorite bit characters from television.

Chelsea Steiner:

During quarantine, I binged the first four seasons of Rick and Morty on HBO Max and quickly fell in love with the filthy and irreverent multiverse of Rick Sanchez and the Smith family. There’s so much here for genre nerds to geek out on, and plenty of rapid-ifre humor from Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland. The series features a deep bench of hilarious bit characters, like Birdperson, Gearhead, and Scary Terry. But only one character has truly captured my heart: Mr. Poopybutthole. This yellow tube with a top hat is himself a parody of wacky side characters, but I am nevertheless delighted by his every appearance. Over the course of the show he’s been shot, got married, had a baby, and became a professor studying the poetry of Maya Angelou. Has a bit character ever gone through so much? OooWee, indeed.

And while we’re on the subject of Dan Harmon and characters with recurring jokes, I’d be remiss if I didn’t give a shout out to the man, the myth, the legend: Magnitude from Community. POP POP!

Princess Weekes:

Chester, aka Chester Drescher from The Nanny, was C.C. Babcock’s dog who seemed to like Fran Fine better than he did C.C. I always loved Chester because he was just so good at switching from in love with Fran to hating C.C, but then not causing a fuss. It was also funny to see such a tiny dog be filled with so much rage towards one Blonde woman. Even when he wasn’t on screen the jokes about C.C forgetting about him were hilarious.

Kaila Hale-Stern:

It’s been years since I watched South Park, but in college it was a staple, and there are few more memorable side characters who continue to pop up than Towelie. Towelie is a genetically engineered talking towel who really, really wants you to go and get high with him, and he is followed around by the strains of the Popeye the Sailor Man theme. As Cartman says at one point, “You’re the worst character ever, Towelie.” To which Towelie replies: “I know.” But his popularity endures, and he even had a pair of Adidas shoes created in his likeness to celebrate 4/20. Do you—you wanna get high?

Rachel Leishman:

“Bobby Newport never had a real job in his life.” I challenge you to hear that sentence and not instantly do the voice that Ben, Jerry, and Tom did for the Bobby Newport smear commercial on Parks and Recreation. Played by Paul Rudd, Bobby Newport was a brilliant addition to the Parks and Rec roaster and I loved when he came back to the show in the final season!

Who is your favorite bit character on television? Let us know in the comments!

(image: Adult Swim)

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The post Ask the Mary Sues: You Again! Our Favorite Recurring Bit Characters on TV first appeared on The Mary Sue.

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