What a cute picture of a college sophomore bro taking his little 12-year-old sister to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Oh wait, that’s just Pete Davidson and Ariana Grande going Instagram official – Lainey Gossip 

Um, everybody but the hot bitch in the middle can exit out of the frame – Drunken Stepfather

Julianne Hough sounds like a dream to travel with – Celebitchy

My favorite mess from Real Housewives of Dallas, who gives me a touch of ginger Anna Nicole Smith, adopted a baby boy – Reality Tea 

Roseanne Barr still doesn’t have anybody in her life who cares enough to take away her Twitter – Towleroad

I need to check to make sure there’s not a carbon monoxide leak in my place, because I’m actually liking Weezer’s cover of Africa – Kenneth in the (212)

Stacy Keibler (remember her?) is pregnant – Popoholic

Well, if ABC wants to replace one pain in the culo for another…. – SOW

Emily RideAJetSki, pull that long-haired baby guinea pig off of your forehead and return the poor thing to its mommy now! – Hollywood Tuna

Colton Haynes was in Love, Simon until he ended up on the cutting room floor (and now on the DVD extras) – Boy Culture

I see that Caitlyn Jenner still loves and puts her children first – Just Jared

Pic: Instagram

Some people still get very bothered by what Serena Williams wears on the tennis court. Yesterday at the French Open, Serena won her first grand slam match since giving birth to her daughter eight months ago, and she did it while wearing what appeared to be a black catsuit.

Serena’s black full-length suit was made by Nike and sort of looked like what you might see at a high-fashion superhero costume showroom.

Catsuit anyone? For all the moms out there who had a tough recovery from pregnancy—here you go. If I can do it, so can you. Love you all!! pic.twitter.com/xXb3BKDGNF

— Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) May 29, 2018

I’m all for a catsuit, regardless of the occasion, but some people wondered why she wore it. According to The Guardian, Serena explained yesterday after her match that it was made specifically to help protect her postpartum body against blood clots. I’m guessing it works the same way those beige granny compression stockings work that my doctor is always telling me to wear on an airplane.

Serena wore a tight black suit while competing in the US Open in 2002, and she called yesterday’s catsuit her “2.0 version.”

“It feels like this suit represents all the women that have been through a lot mentally, physically, with their body to come back and have confidence and to believe in themselves.”

And the comparison to a superhero suit is no coincidence.

“I call it, like, my Wakanda-inspired catsuit. We designed it way before the movie, but still, it kind of reminds me of that. Williams said she feels “like a warrior princess, kind of” when she wears the outfit. “I’m always living in a fantasy world. I always wanted to be a superhero and it’s kind of my way of being a superhero.”

If Serena sees herself as a superhero, then I guess that technically makes Maria Sharipova her arch villain? I kind of hope Maria leans into that and shows up at their next showdown in a villainous dark purple catsuit, complete with dramatic full-length gloves and a pleather mask. Plus, she can always blame the mask for limiting her vision when she inevitably loses.

Pic: Wenn.com

I just assumed Kesha’s ongoing battle with Dr. Luke had ended with her and that all-star Grammys chorus of Cyndi Lauper & Co. performing one of those Handmaid’s Tale sacrifices on him for being a real dick. Alas, the U.S. court system had a different idea in mind because they still maintain she can’t break free of her contract with him, and he’s taking that as an in to sue her for lost money.

The Hollywood Reporter says Kesha’s future court dates with Dr. Luke will likely not pertain to her contracts. On Tuesday in New York, an appeals court agreed with a previous judge’s decision to reject Kesha’s counterclaims. The previous judge said that Kesha had to work under her existing contract with Dr. Luke. Kesha claimed she couldn’t due to her bad relationship with him and didn’t want him to get a piece of her earnings. The judge also maintained Kesha should have given notice of claims she was owed royalties on previous work and also looked to work with non-Dr. Luke producers to keep with her current work obligations. Kesha’s countersuit basically said that was a bunch of BS:

“You can get a divorce from an abusive spouse. You can dissolve a partnership if the relationship becomes irreconcilable. The same opportunity — to be liberated from the physical, emotional, and financial bondage of a destructive relationship — should be available to a recording artist.”

Since the appeals court has rejected all of Kesha’s counterclaims, this means the only case going forward is Dr. Luke’s defamation case against her.

The Blast says Dr. Luke claims he lost a lot of money, including a chance to work with Katy Perry, because Kesha defamed his character, and he wants $50 million. Representatives for Luke say there have been oodles of false claims, and that he basically has been devoid of what would have otherwise been a decade of dollah dollah bills. They claim he would have made nearly $30 million of publisher and producing royalties, nearly $9 million from co-writing songs, and $10.2 million that would have come from Katy’s 4^th, 5^th, and 6^thalbums. Ha! Oh, Dr. Luke. Did you listen to Witness? Yeah, me neither. But – at best – you may have lost out on a $100 Big Lots gift card that only has $67.43 left on it.

Pic: Wenn.com

If your eyes read that as “Orlando Bloom,” then I hate to break the bad news to you that this post doesn’t hold a picture of Legolas with a That’s So Raven tattoo inked into his left tit. Although, Orly’s got a sparkling anus tattoo, so nothing would surprise me.

Orlando Brown is the child actor turned throbbing mess who played Raven’s friend on That’s So Raven in the early-aughts. Orlando returned to the camera last month when he got his mug shot taken after a bounty hunter caught him in his chonies at a house in Las Vegas and shuffled him off to the police station. Orlando was wanted after he failed to show up to court to answer to domestic abuse and possession of a controlled substance charges.

That “possession of a controlled substance” shit explains this next part. Orlando said in the past that he wasn’t asked to be on the That’s So Raven reboot called Raven’s House in 2016 because he and Raven-Symone still have feelings for each other but that she’s denying their love and is “running from the D.” She’s running from the D, alright. The D attached to a damn fucking crazy.

When Orlando was arrested for allegedly beating his girlfriend in a parking lot, he complained that Raven didn’t bail him out or call him. Even though it seems like Raven would rather hire an assistant named Watermelondrea than remember that Orlando Brown exists, he decided it would be a really good idea to get her child face tattooed onto his chest. And on this episode of That’s So Creepy…

Orlando Brown tattoos Raven Symone's face on his chest pic.twitter.com/L8IkSLdmBB

— say cheese (@Saycheese_Media) May 29, 2018

How sweet. Raven should really return the favor and get an Orlando Brown tattoo on her chest. Specifically, a tattoo of a restraining order with the name Orlando Brown on it.

Pic: Saycheese_Media

The Walking Dead’s ratings are currently lower than the groan of a zombie with a shovel to the head, and some fans believe it has jumped the shark.That may be so, but Norman Reedus clearly plans on jumping that shark with millions in his pockets.

The Walking Dead’s ninth will premiere sometime later this year. It will be the last season for the main character Rick Grimes, as actor Andrew Lincoln recently announced he’s leaving the show. That means Norman Reedus, who plays Daryl Dixon, will be bumped up to the #1 spot on the call sheet. Along with that fancy new call sheet position, The Hollywood Reporter says he’s currently negotiating a new deal that will get him $20 million.

Sources tell THR that Norman’s contract was up at the end of the eighth season. He reportedly negotiated a new contract when it was announced that The Walking Dead would be back for a ninth season. Norman is currently shooting the new season in Atlanta, but after it was announced that Andrew’s leaving, he’s been trying to get more money. Andrew is rumored to only appear in about nine episodes of the ninth season.

The last time The Walking Dead had a salary re-negotiation, Lauren Cohan ended up getting phased out of the show (she too will reportedly be in about six episodes of the ninth season). Since The Walking Dead sort of depends on their sill-human characters, it’s probably unlikely that Norman’s salary increase will end with a script that says “Episode One: RIP Daryl.”

$20 million is a lot for a season worth of squinting and growling at extras in facial prosthetics. But I can see why he’s asking for so much. Norman is going to be a dad again. And I’m sure while he’d be fine with wrapping his kid up in an old Crown Royal bag, his lady Diane Kruger has more refined taste than that. I’m sure disposable Baby Chanel bouclé diapers don’t come cheap.

Pic: Wenn.com/FayesVision

I’m beginning to think Duchess Meghan and her BFF Priyanka Chopra sat around one night getting boozed up on rosé while scrolling through every gay Tumblr and piece of fan fiction to find their ideal men. We know Meghan ran off with Prince Harry, and now it appears Priyanka is canoodling with Grade-A gay-baiter Nick Jonas. Someone better keep Liam Hemsworth away from walking down the aisle with Miley Cyrus or every gay thirst blog may as well just shut down.

Us Weekly says that Priyanka and Nick are in early days of dating. They spent some time together over Memorial Day weekend, which included going to see Beauty And The Beast Live at the Hollywood Bowl, where an eyewitness said they were seen together:

“They walked in together just before the performance was starting, they looked great together, but no hand-holding or obvious PDA. The two were seen heading to the concessions stand during intermission before returning to their seats to finish taking in the show. They snuck out right as the show was ending.”

Um, if Nick paid for her Junior Mints at the concession stand, that counts as PDA to me, witness!

Getting into Belle and Beast role play wasn’t the end to Priyanick’s (ugh, I tried) weekend. They went to a Dodgers game, and another snitch blabbed about how they were “very smiley” and being “super happy” while sitting close. I guess nobody had Dodger hot dog breath, or that happiness would have been short-lived. They also went on a boat ride with other famous-ish people:

Nick Jonas with Priyanka Chopra, Glen Powell, Wilmer Valderrama, Chord Overstreet, Greg Garbowsky, and friends in Los Angeles, CA – May 28th pic.twitter.com/nTKy716Oxc

— Nick Jonas News (@JickNonasNews) May 29, 2018

What’s a bit interesting is how Nostradamus Jimmy Kimmel had Priyanka on his show last year after the 2017 Met Gala and gave her a hard time about dating Nick because they were photographed together (see above!) on the red carpet. At the time she brushed it off with sarcasm, but now that it may be official, I’m sure Meghan is getting an earful from QE2 whenever she and Harry have to go to Grammy’s house for Sunday dinner. If there was one celeb THE QUEEN wanted to meet among all that riff-raff Tinseltown crowd at the royal wedding, it’s a Jonas since you know the Jonas Brothers had to have made the cut for that iPod the Obamas gave her.

Pic: Wenn.com

Two unlikely figures may be facing off on the basketball court: Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Jimmy Kimmel.

It all began when Kimmel mocked the senator for posting a selfie at the Houston Rockets game.

“Can you be embarrassed by a picture of someone else’s dad? Because I am,” Kimmel reacted. “When Ted arrived at the Toyota Center, some of the fans mistakenly thought it was Grandpa Munster Bobblehead Night.  I mean, look at him. He looks, and I’m not joking here, he looks like a blobfish.”

Well, Cruz took exception to the insults and reached out to the comedian on Twitter to “settle this man-to-man.”

.@jimmykimmel All right, Big Guy…you talk a good game. You besmirched my support for the @HoustonRockets So let’s settle this man-to-man: one-on-one, hoops (or “ring-ball,” if you prefer). The loser gives $5k to the (non-political) charity of the winner’s choice. https://t.co/BWvAP5VOtM

— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) May 31, 2018

Kimmel responded by saying he liked the idea, but he had one condition.

I like this idea. I’ll accept on one condition – we both wear VERY short shorts. https://t.co/rKxgHuPCjW

— Jimmy Kimmel (@jimmykimmel) May 31, 2018

That didn’t exactly fly with Cruz, which he correctly responded by insisting “NOBODY” wants to see that.

As Borat demonstrated conclusively, NOBODY wants to see that. And ABC would probably be fined by the FCC! How ‘bout this: you dress yourself, I’ll do the same. Play to 10 (by ones), win by 2. https://t.co/B2MrOkBipI

— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) May 31, 2018

Kimmel then made a counteroffer.

Crop tops? https://t.co/Nt2ti4SYYx

— Jimmy Kimmel (@jimmykimmel) May 31, 2018

Crop tops or no crop tops, this may be the biggest sporting event of the year.

[image via screengrab]

On Wednesday night, Trevor Noah went after President Trump for his constant “Spygate” push.

Noah began by criticizing the president for “crowd-testing” his “latest new conspiracy” at Tuesday’s rally in Tennessee, which is the assertion that the FBI placed an informant to surveil several members of the Trump campaign for political purposes, something he called “total bullsh*t.”

“What did happen is that the FBI, with good reason, had concerns that Russia was infiltrating Trump’s campaign, so it used an informant to try and stop it,” Noah told his viewers. “If anything, the FBI was trying to protect Donald Trump. Calling that ‘spying’ is like accusing your doctor of spying on your cancer.”

The Daily Show host then used Rudy Giuliani‘s admission that the Spygate push is meant to discredit the Mueller probe and that the “jury” should be “the American people.”

“You know, I’m honestly shocked how upfront Giuliani is about the whole thing,” Noah reacted. “He’s like, ‘Yeah, we’re trying to manipulate public opinion against the investigation so that Trump doesn’t get impeached, duh!’ Like if you’re ever pulling off a heist, don’t ever have Rudy on your squad, he’ll give it away!”

Noah highlighted several skeptics of Spygate, including Congressman Trey Gowdy (R-SC), Fox News anchor Shep Smith, and Fox News judicial analyst Judge Andrew Napolitano.

“Damn, even people on Fox News are calling Trump out for this one,” Noah said. “Which can only mean one of two things. Either there really is nothing at all to Spygate and Trump is just trying to undermine the Mueller investigation. Or the Deep State FBI has infiltrated Fox News!”

Watch the clip above, via Comedy Central.

Samantha Bee tore into Ivanka Trump over her father’s immigration practices on Full Frontal Wednesday night, calling the first daughter a “feckless cunt.”

“We’re going to talk about racism and I just popped an Ambien, so buck up everyone!” Bee kicked things off, referencing Roseanne Barr.

But the late night host had a “more important” topic from Twitter she went on to discuss: the separation of migrant children from their families at the Southern Border.

Bee noted that the policy of separating migrant children from their parents is not new, as it happened during the Obama administration, but joked, “neither is my alcoholism, but it’s getting a lot worse under Trump.”

Bee eventually took aim at Ivanka Trump, who faced criticism from liberals after posting a photo of her son this weekend on Twitter amidst reports that HHS had lost track of nearly 1,500 migrant children placed with families.

“Ivanka Trump, who works at the White House, chose to post the second most oblivious tweet we’ve seen this week,” Bee said. “Ivanka, that’s a beautiful photo of you and your child, but let me just say, one mother to another, do something about your dad’s immigration practices you feckless cunt!”

“He listens to you,” she added. “Put on something tight and low-cut and tell your father to fucking stop it. Tell him it was an Obama thing and see how it goes, okay?”

Watch above, via TBS.

[image via screengrab]

—

Follow Aidan McLaughlin (@aidnmclaughlin) on Twitter

Sean Hannity took aim at Congressman Trey Gowdy (R-SC) over his recent remarks that tamped down the hype over “Spy Gate.”

Gowdy, who attended a briefing at the White House regarding the FBI’s use of an informant on the Trump campaign during the 2016 election, told Fox News’ Martha MacCallum this week that the FBI did what Americans “would want them to do,” perhaps expressing subtly that there was no evidence of wrongdoing in the informant who spoke with members of the Trump campaign.

Well now, another Fox News host is letting him have it.

Even before giving his opening monologue, Hannity said that Gowdy “apparently doesn’t get it” and insisted that he’s “actually defending the FBI’s use of spies in its overall investigation into Russian collusion.”

“We’ll tell Trey Gowdy why he’s wrong,” Hannity told his viewers.

Numerous times during his SpyGate-themed monologue, Hannity dinged the House Oversight Committee Chairman.

“I listened to Chairman Gowdy today, who I frankly agree with on a lot of issues,” Hannity continued. “He tried to play down the president — who is rightly calling Spy Gate.”

During a panel with Fox News’ Gregg Jarrett and pro-Trump attorney Joe DiGenova, Hannity further expressed his frustrations towards Gowdy.

“And what about this phony narrative — and frankly, I’ve always liked Trey Gowdy. Shame on Trey Gowdy,” Hannity said.

“Oh please, don’t even bring up Trey Gowdy,” DiGenova reacted. “That idiotic comment he made last night and this morning that everything was done by the book — this is ludicrous! ”

Watch the clips above, via Fox News.

Tom Arnold appeared on CNN Wednesday night for an interview with Anderson Cooper, and the actor dished about his ex-wife Roseanne Barr‘s racist Twitter spree that ended up getting her hit ABC sitcom cancelled.

Arnold first told Cooper that he saw this coming, noting he saw “how far gone” Barr was regarding her belief in conspiracy theories, citing Pizzagate and Birtherism.

“By the way, this monkey thing is something she’s tweeted before about black people,” Arnold said. “Why is it ok?! It’s a meme that she and thousands of her alt-right fans do. They love calling black people monkeys. It’s not a one time joke.”

“They do it because we have a white trash racist president,” Arnold said. “That’s a fact. Donald Trump — Roseanne and I have both known him 30 years. That’s an absolute fact.”

Arnold went on to call Trump’s response to the Roseanne tweet, in which the president blasted Disney CEO Bob Iger for not apologizing to him, “insane.”

“I have to say this about the president we have, and his gaslighting and lying,” Arnold continued. “You can see him perpetuating mental health issues for the entire country. Every day he gets on TV and lies and he perpetuates fear and anxiety. He never says things are great. He says, oh my gosh, look how dangerous it is in the inner city and black people.”

Cooper returned after the break with a fired up Arnold.

Arnold recounted a time when he was sat next to Trump at a dinner after his divorce from Barr, and Trump called his ex-wife “disgusting.”

“That’s a weird thing to say,” Arnold said, calling Trump’s later embrace of Barr “sad.”

Arnold concluded the interview by telling Michael Caputo, the former Trump aide who said earlier on CNN that comparing black people to monkeys is a common “racist trope,” to “shut up.”

Watch above, via CNN.

[image via screengrab]

—

Follow Aidan McLaughlin (@aidnmclaughlin) on Twitter

The Oval Office photo of President Donald Trump meeting Kim Kardashian was always destined for memedom. But the New York Post took the money and ran with it – very far and very fast.

The Rupert Murdoch-owned tabloid will be running a picture of the two television heavyweights on its Thursday morning cover, accompanied by the words “Trump Meets Rump.”

Tomorrow’s cover: Kim Kardashian visits the White House to discuss prison reform with President Trump https://t.co/1N3bNkVmK7 pic.twitter.com/yPaL93Tyhe

— New York Post (@nypost) May 30, 2018

The cover is riddled with bootylicious North Korea puns, including “Kim Thong Un” and “The Other Big Ass Summit.”

Twitter fell hard for the Post‘s front cover about the back end:

Epic https://t.co/3KHDtj5tUN

— Chris Cillizza (@CillizzaCNN) May 31, 2018

Did Bill Maher become a New York Post headline writer? pic.twitter.com/VZXqbT5Ukk

— Tom Kludt (@TomKludt) May 31, 2018

Live by the tabloid, die by the tabloid. https://t.co/vG3wENxeJt

— frates (@frates) May 31, 2018

“Kim Thong Un” https://t.co/SjVRm7Vi9Z

— David S. Joachim (@davidjoachim) May 31, 2018

The Ass That Broke The Internet Meets With Prominent Armenian-American https://t.co/2v0O0N0Jx3

— Daniel Foster (@DanFosterType) May 31, 2018

The first Kim-Trump summit has happened https://t.co/29xxcw5AgT

— Anna Fifield (@annafifield) May 31, 2018

It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity … It is an area which we call the Twilight Zone. https://t.co/v9FUqad9wB

— Kimberley Johnson (@AuthorKimberley) May 31, 2018

THIS WEEK NEEDS TO CHILL https://t.co/6d3tTa0QXf

— Christian Arcand (@ChristianArcand) May 30, 2018

Because it’s 2018 https://t.co/w3AF07gbiE

— Trevor Robb (@TrevorRobb_) May 31, 2018

Well, that quickly escalated… https://t.co/VLKmcMPhVp

— Nicole Bitette (@nbitty) May 31, 2018

[image via screengrab]

Republican strategist Michael Caputo and national press secretary for Bernie Sanders 2016 Symone Sanders could not agree less over what ought to be next for Roseanne Barr.

On a panel with CNN’s Anderson Cooper, the two got heated over whether the disgraced comedienne deserves a second chance.

“I got to believe that none of us like or appreciate what Roseanne Barr did, it’s a horrible mistake, and I think, you know, people view it, this whole thing about gorillas, it is a trope, it’s a racist trope, and I’ve seen people taken down by this in the past,” Caputo said. “If Roseanne is sorry and it sounds like she is sorry… if she makes amends with this with her community and family and friends I think she should get back to work.”

Roseanne hasn’t tried to make amends. Guess what? Today she blamed her racism on Ambien,” Sanders shot back.

“Furthermore this is who Roseanne actually is, this wasn’t the first time she tweeted something that is racist… ABC noted themselves that this was the third or fourth time and this was just the straw that broke the camel’s back for them of Roseanne being offensive,” she continued. “There is freedom of speech in this country, but you don’t have freedom from consequences of your speech.”

Sanders went on to comment on President Donald Trump‘s silence about Roseanne’s racist remark, juxtaposing it with his practical obsession with her show’s blockbuster season premiere back in March.

“The president is the president of all people, and damn it, I wish he would start acting like it,” she added.

Watch above, via CNN.

[image via screengrab]

Tucker Carlson opened his show on Wednesday night with some breaking news: “The left is now on the record opposing racism.”

This stunning revelation came to Tucker in light of the backlash Roseanne Barr faced after she issued a racist tweet about former Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett, and saw her hit ABC sitcom cancelled.

“The left is now on the record opposing racism,” Carlson said. “Attacking people on the basis of their race is immoral, they are telling us, and of course they are absolutely right about that. Let’s hope this conversation continues and progresses. Liberals may finally concede that discrimination based on skin color really is wrong, whether it’s in hiring or promotions or government contracting or school admissions.”

“It’s hypocrisy land, it’s where liberals live,” Carlson continued. “Last night, for example, MSNBC held a town hall meeting dedicated to fighting racism. Guess who they invited to lecture America on the topic? You guessed it, racists.”

Carlson explained that the town hall was hosted by Al Sharpton, the MSNBC host who in the 1990s was accused of inciting violence against whites as a civil rights activist.

Tucker went on to claim that Tim Wise, an anti-racism activist at the event, was an “obvious racist.” Carlson used as his evidence Wise’s claim that people are raised to believe that “black lives matter less than white comfort.”

Carlson’s indignation didn’t end there: he also blasted Wise for his generalizations, namely the activist’s claim that the “gentrifiers” of today — i.e. white people — are now returning to black urban communities they once fled.

“They are telling you on MSNBC that because certain people have the same skin color they all have the same dumb attitudes,” Carlson said. “They are all, everyone of them, immoral. You can tell by the way they look.”

The Fox News host concluded with a vast and imbecilic generalization of his own:

“That’s the official position of the American left, the same people currently accusing you of racism.”

Watch above, via Fox News.

[image via screengrab]

—

Follow Aidan McLaughlin (@aidnmclaughlin) on Twitter

Even Jesse Watters, who has been known to laud President Donald Trump more often than not, has a bone to pick with him over his grammar.

When the panel of The Five was discussing a White House letter that a retired teacher sent back with her grammar edits, Geraldo Rivera asked if nitpicking Trump’s grammar “just another example of seizing on something [people] could criticize Trump for.”

“Haters gonna hate,” Kimberly Guilfoyle responded, dismissively. “You see the impetus behind it which was just to try to humiliate and cheapen the presidency.”

But Watters disagreed.

“I’ve defended this president on a lot of a stuff. We all know,” he said. “But I can’t defend him on the grammar, the punctuation, the misspellings. It drives me crazy.”

“My mother is an educator, my father is in education, and I read these tweets, and it’s just gobbledygook,” he continued. “I get it, he has a great brain and he went to the best schools, but I don’t understand why that doesn’t come across on Twitter.”

“He speaks properly, he just can’t write properly,” he added. “Apparently, The New York Times said he does misspellings on purpose so he’s like, one of the folks…I don’t know if I buy that. But it drives me nuts, I think he needs to clean it up, and that would be my advice.”

Watch above, via Fox News.

[image via screengrab]

Fox News’ Tucker Carlson devoted time on his Wednesday evening show to a blogger “who wrote them looks in retrospect like a prophet calling for America First policies at least a decade before Donald Trump entered politics.”

That blogger, he said, was none other than MSNBC’s Joy Reid, who he described as the “now totally dogmatic race-baiting MSNBC weekend host.”

He then said this: “According to the Internet archive, Joy Reid apparently posted those views on a now defunct blog a decade ago. She wouldn’t do that now…MSNBC would fire her right away for the crime of independent thinking.”

He then suggested Reid may once again blame a hacker or “do the unexpected and admit that there was a time before the revolution currently in progress when she was actually kind of smart and reasonable. We await her explanation.”

Watch above, via Fox News.

[image via screengrab]

In the latest chapter of the “Joy Reid‘s Old Blog is a Crazy, Bigoted Cesspool” saga, the MSNBC host told readers to watch a documentary promoting a conspiracy of the “jet fuel can’t melt steel beams” variety.

According to recently discovered ReidBlog posts shared with BuzzFeed News, Reid told her readers to watch Loose Change, a 9/11 conspiracy documentary which alleges that the government planned the attacks on the World Trade Center.

The main arguments in Loose Change have been debunked. The documentary was produced, in part, by – the savvier among you probably guessed it – Alex Jones of InfoWars.

“The fundamental question is: do you believe the official story of 9/11?” the post reads. “If you do, great. If you don’t, then everything that happened after that is called into serious question. Even if you’re agnostic, or you tend to believe that al-Qaida attacked the World Trade Center and Pentagon and that the government had no warning such a thing could happen, it’s worth taking a second look.”

A federal investigation is already underway into a series of homophobic posts on ReidBlog that Reid claims were not authored by her. Back in December, she apologized for a series of homophobic posts on ReidBlog that were, indeed, authored by her.

Neither Reid nor MSNBC responded to BuzzFeed News‘ requests for comment on the revelation of this latest post.

[image via screengrab]

President Donald Trump tweeted out Wednesday evening that it was “great” to meet with Kim Kardashian West in the White House.

He also added a picture of the pair posing in the Oval Office.

Great meeting with @KimKardashian today, talked about prison reform and sentencing. pic.twitter.com/uOy4UJ41JF

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 30, 2018

Earlier today, Vanity Fair reported that after “months of talks between Jared Kushner and Kim Kardashian is set to culminate in a meeting with President Trump, in which the reality-TV star will ask him to pardon a 62-year-old great-grandmother serving a life sentence without parole for a first-time drug offense.”

Alice Marie Johnson, the grandmother whose case likely came up, was expected to be released during the Obama administration, however, she was not among those granted clemency.

Kardashian has previously called Johnson’s situation “unfair.”

This is so unfair… https://t.co/W3lPINbQuy

— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) October 26, 2017

While the details of Kardashian’s talks at the White House has not been released, Kushner has also met with other celebrities to discuss prison reform and even teamed up with an unlikely ally — CNN’s Van Jones to discuss the issue.

Shortly after, the New York Post previewed its cover for tomorrow’s paper:

Tomorrow’s cover: Kim Kardashian visits the White House to discuss prison reform with President Trump https://t.co/1N3bNkVmK7 pic.twitter.com/yPaL93Tyhe

— New York Post (@nypost) May 30, 2018

[image via screengrab]

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders showed a bit of her softer, emotional side on Wednesday after a kid reporter asked her a question about school shootings.

“At my school, we recently had a lockdown drill. One thing that affects my and other students’ mental health is the worry about we or our friends could get shot at school. Specifically, could you tell me what the administration has done or will do to prevent these senseless tragedies?” Benje Choucroun, a 13-year-old reporting for Time for Kids, asked.

Sanders, who prior to that had been brusque with the adult reporters in the room, actually seemed to choke up a bit.

“As a kid, and certainly as a parent, there is nothing that could be more terrifying for a kid to go to school and not feel safe, so I’m sorry that you feel that way,” Sanders replied, with a crack in her voice.

She continued on: “This administration takes it seriously and the school safety commission that the President convened is meeting again this week — an official meeting to discuss the best ways forward and how we can do every single thing within our power to protect kids in our schools and to make them feel safe and their parents feel good about dropping them off.”

Watch above, via Fox News.

[image via screengrab]

President Donald Trump‘s lawyer Rudy Giuliani warned on Wednesday that if Special Counsel Robert Mueller does not end the investigation by September 1, he’s “clearly doing a Comey.”

Giuliani’s remarks were made during comments to the press and reported by CNN and other outlets.

Asked about whether he may fire Mueller, Trump’s lawyer noted, “I don’t think he’s going to fire Mueller, Mueller is creating his own problems.”

He then called on Mueller to end his probe by September 1.

“Well, if he doesn’t file his report by September 1, mid-September, he’s clearly doing a Comey,” Giuliani stressed, referring to ex-FBI Director James Comey.

Earlier this month, Giuliani told The New York Times that Mueller himself hoped that the obstruction probe would be wrapped up by September 1.

In his latest talk with reporters today, Bloomberg noted that Giuliani is now saying that the probe should be wrapped up by Sept. 1 but it should be ended regardless of whether Mueller interviews Trump or not.

“People should have an answer even if they put together whatever the heck they have,” Giuliani is reported as saying, according to Bloomberg.

Giuliani also said Trump has no plans to fire Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who is overseeing the Mueller probe. And as for Jeff Sessions…

“There’s no doubt he’s complained about him,” Giuliani, who is currently serving as Trump’s lawyer, told reporters on Wednesday. “There’s no doubt he has some, some grievances. I don’t know if they’ve aired them out yet, but he’s not going to fire him before this is over, nor do I think he should.”

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Maria Bartiromo, guest hosting Neil Cavuto‘s Fox News show on Wednesday, had on Diamond & Silk for a lengthy 10-minute segment to basically defend Roseanne Barr‘s super racist tweet.

It wasn’t what you would expect to see on a news network at 4:00 p.m., but it certainly was a spectacle. Diamond & Silk, pro-Trump social media stars whose fame has been propelled by their dubious claims Facebook is censoring them, were invited on Fox News to give their opinion on the tweet that has tanked Barr’s career.

The duo first defended the comedian against charges of racism. “Roseanne, let me just say this here: she is not a racist.”

“She made bad judgment when she tweeted out something that was a little off-the-cuff,” they continued. “And she apologized for it. Now, where’s the apologies from all of the other people like Joy Behar, Whoopi Goldberg, Sunny Hostin, Jimmy Kimmel?”

(Behar joked earlier this year that Mike Pence‘s belief that God speaks to him is a sign of mental illness. After a backlash, she apologized in a statement, in a phone call to Pence, and on air.)

“Why haven’t their shows been canned? Because they’ve said some off-the-cuff stuff about our president, and about conservatives, about people that support our president,” Diamond & Silk said.

Bartiromo agreed, criticizing ESPN’s Keith Olbermann for using “F-bombs” in his tweets.

“I don’t think her show should have been canned,” Diamond & Silk said. “Let this play out on the show.”

“It feels like if you’re a Trump supporter, there’s just no room for error,” Bartiromo lamented about Barr, who compared Valerie Jarrett, an African-American, to an ape. “She obviously made a big mistake, but there’s no room for error.”

“When she saw that the joke fell flat, she apologized for it,” Diamond & Silk added, before blasting “the left” for “beating this lady up over the head about racism, when they are the ones that does a lot of the racism.”

The duo went to discuss their hopes that another network pick up Roseanne since its cancellation from ABC.

“A comedian just called us bootlickers and coons,” Diamond & Silk said about hate mail they receive on Twitter (marking what must be the first time that phrase has ever been uttered on Fox News.)

Bartiromo wrapped up the interview, which felt like it went on for hours, by probing Diamond & Silk’s conservative bonafides and their escape from liberal “conditioning.”

“You make a lot of interesting points, ladies,” Bartiromo noted.

Watch above via Fox News.

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—

Follow Aidan McLaughlin (@aidnmclaughlin) on Twitter

RNC spokesperson Kayleigh McEnany doesn’t think President Donald Trump should have to speak out specifically about Roseanne Barr‘s racist remarks.

After all, at least according to McEnany, he has already “categorically denounced” racism.

Speaking to The Evening Edit‘s Liz MacDonald on Fox Business on Wednesday, McDonald first noted that MSNBC’s Joy Reid did not lose her job for homophobic posts alleged found on her blog before asking McEnany her thoughts on Trump not denouncing Trump’s racism.

“The president has come out multiple times saying he denounces all racism,” McEnany replied. “We all denounce racism, that would include the president.”

She then added Sanders is “spot on” when she points out the double standard in the media and that is to”denounce hate wherever we see it” rather than giving anti-Trumpers “free passes.”

The RNC spox then concluded that, “I don’t think the president has to go around calling out every single private citizen making denunciations…He’s denounced racism categorically, he’s said there is no place for it…that’s sufficient.”

Watch above, via Fox Business

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Former President Barack Obama has kept himself largely out of the spotlight after he departed the White House, so any insight into his final days in office represents a pretty substantial revelation.

In his new memoir The World As It Is, former deputy national security advisor Ben Rhodes chronicles some of Obama’s statements in the months before he left office – particularly about the man who was about to replace him, Donald Trump.

“Maybe we pushed too far,” Obama said to some of his aides just days after the election. “Maybe people just want to fall back into their tribe.”

Rhodes recalls Obama talking to several world leaders in his last months in office, including Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who apologized for meeting with Trump at Trump Tower; Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whom Obama encouraged to, as it was put in the New York Times, “take on a more vocal role defending the values they shared”; and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who teared up when saying goodbye to Obama.

The book also talks about what Obama could have done to prevent Russian interference in the 2016 election, citing that Obama authorized a warning to be issued by intelligence agency leaders about the threat, but more steps were not taken because Mitch McConnell would not move forward with a bipartisan statement.

“What else did you expect from McConnell?” Obama reportedly asked a furious Rhodes. “He won’t even give us a hearing on Merrick Garland.”

Meanwhile, when Trump was elected, Obama was disappointed, but looked to the will of the people:

“I don’t know,” he told aides. “Maybe this is what people want. I’ve got the economy set up well for him. No facts. No consequences. They can just have a cartoon.”

He added that “we’re about to find out just how resilient our institutions are, at home and around the world.”

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On Fox News’ The Five today, two of the show’s co-hosts called out President Trump for not directly condemning Roseanne Barr‘s racism in his tweet.

Rather than saying anything about Barr’s comments, the President instead decided to air a personal grievance about Disney CEO Bob Iger:

Bob Iger of ABC called Valerie Jarrett to let her know that “ABC does not tolerate comments like those” made by Roseanne Barr. Gee, he never called President Donald J. Trump to apologize for the HORRIBLE statements made and said about me on ABC. Maybe I just didn’t get the call?

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 30, 2018

And then Sarah Huckabee Sanders kept the double standard complaint going at today’s press briefing.

Geraldo Rivera said on The Five today Trump should’ve made a point of condemning Barr’s racism:

“The President missed an opportunity today. Here, it would have been so easy. I mean, when I was with him, I said, ‘You need more black people around.’ I think that you have an opportunity here––just a passing phrase, you know. He could say everything he said, but start it with, ‘This is abhorrent, this is awful, I don’t condone this. As much as I like her comedy, this wasn’t funny.’ It would have been easy for him to reach out and to deny the naysayers.”

And towards the end of the segment, Dana Perino agreed, saying Trump could have “owned the media” by trying to “tweet something else” instead of just “a grievance for himself.”

Watch above, via Fox News.

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— —

Follow Josh Feldman on Twitter: @feldmaniac

On Wednesday, CNN’s Van Jones responded to President Donald Trump’s tweet kvetching that ABC’s Bob Iger apologized to Valerie Jarrett after Roseanne Barr‘s tweetstorm but did not apologize to him for “the horrible statements made and said about me on ABC.”

Bob Iger of ABC called Valerie Jarrett to let her know that “ABC does not tolerate comments like those” made by Roseanne Barr. Gee, he never called President Donald J. Trump to apologize for the HORRIBLE statements made and said about me on ABC. Maybe I just didn’t get the call?

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 30, 2018

Speaking during a panel on The Lead With Jake Tapper, Jones was asked about Trump using the moment to try to make a case for media bias against him.

Jones started by acknowledging that media bias is a real issue.

He then continued on: “But this is an opportunity for the president to talk about a different kind of bias which is racial bias against African Americans who have been routinely and repeatedly referred to as animals, as apes, as monkeys, for a couple of centuries now.”

“He once again never misses an opportunity to miss an opportunity to lead,” he then stressed, speaking of Trump.

Jones then added that “You would expect the president of the United States to at least try to speak to the pain that was caused by this horrific comment.”

He ended by praising Jarrett.

“And by the way, Valerie Jarrett is somebody I worked for. I know her personally. She is a class act. And she should never have been subjected to that kind of comment. Nobody should. To go after someone like her was beyond the pale, Jones said. “I’m glad ABC took appropriate action.”

The Federalist‘s Mary Katherine Ham then agreed that “sure” Trump could have used it as an opportunity but “he’s interested in whipping this up. He’s interested in speaking to the people defending Roseanne.”

Watch above, via CNN.

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Reporters Without Borders, a free press advocacy group, condemned the faking of Russian journalist Arkady Babchenko‘s death in an attempt to gather information on the Kremlin’s alleged attempts on his life, as the nonprofit said “there can be no grounds for faking a journalist’s death.”

“Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemns the distressing simulation of Russian exile journalist Arkady Babchenko’s murder,” Reporters Without Borders said today in a press release.

The group’s secretary-general Christophe Deloire rebuked the actions as well, saying,“This journalist’s reappearance is a great relief but it was distressing and regrettable that the Security Service of Ukraine played with the truth.”

“Was such a scheme really necessary?” Questioned Deloire. “There can be no grounds for faking a journalist’s death.”

Babchenko, who was believed to have been killed in his Kiev, Ukraine apartment this week, held a press conference today as his way of letting everyone know that he is actually alive — including his own wife, who had no idea his death was fake.

“I am sorry, but there were no options here,” Babchenko said at the presser. “I’m sorry for making [his wife] live through this. I’ve buried my own friends and colleagues many times myself.”

In an elaborate scheme, Babchenko, a Russian exile, worked with Security Service of Ukraine in an attempt to see if Kremlin agents were looking to assassinate him — a very real for Russian journalists whose reporting undermines the government that has killed reporters in the past. According to the journalist, he was tipped off a month ago by a source who said Russia’s Federal Security Service was plotting an assassination attempt.

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Follow the author on Twitter (@calebecarma).

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