Actress Rose McGowan blasts Natalie Portman Oscars cape
US actress and #MeToo activist Rose McGowan has dismissed as a “fraud” Natalie Portman’s Oscar dress embroidered with the names of female filmmakers overlooked for best director nominations.
LOS ANGELES — US actress and #MeToo activist Rose McGowan has dismissed as a “fraud” Natalie Portman’s Oscar dress embroidered with the names of female filmmakers overlooked for best director nominations.
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| Rose McGowan (right) argued that Natalie Portmanâs red carpet protest was deeply offensive to those who actually do the work. — AFP/VNA Photo |
In a post on Facebook, the actress said she found Portman’s red carpet Oscar protest “deeply offensive to those of us who actually do the work.”
“I’m not writing this out of bitterness,” she added. “I am writing this out of disgust.”
McGowan said that while the black Dior cape stitched with the names of the snubbed directors got “rave reviews from the mainstream media” it was nothing more than “an actress acting the part of someone who cares.”
“Natalie, you have worked with two female directors in your very long career – one of them was you,” McGowan wrote. “You have a production company that has hired exactly one female director – you.”
In a statement to AFP, Portman agreed with McGowan that she didn’t deserve to be called brave.
“I agree with Ms McGowan that it is inaccurate to call me ‘brave’ for wearing a garment with women’s names on it,” Portman said.
“Brave is a term I more strongly associate with actions like those of the women who have been testifying against Harvey Weinstein the last few weeks, under incredible pressure,” she added in a reference to the disgraced Hollywood mogul on trial in New York charged with predatory sexual assault.
She also acknowledged that she hasn’t worked with as many female directors as she would have liked and pointed out the challenges films directed by women and minorities were up against.
McGowan is among the many women who have accused Weinstein of sexual assault.
McGowan said in her post that while Portman and other actresses have spoken out against the underrepresentation of women in the movie industry, they did little to effect change.
“Until you and your fellow actresses get real, do us all a favour and hang up your embroidered activist cloak, it doesn’t hang right,” she said. — AFP
Jackson Co. New Year’s patrols end in 19 DUII arrests
JACKSON COUNTY, Ore. – New Year’s celebrations are coming to an end for impaired drivers. Law enforcement agencies across Jackson County conducted a saturation patrol over 24 hours, starting at noon on Wednesday.
In total, 19 people were arrested for Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants (DUII) during this time. It’s slightly lower than last year’s numbers, which amounted to 21 arrests.
Thankfully, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office (JCSO) reported that there were no fatal crashes; however, a car ended up in a ditch. Patrolling JCSO deputies also located two people shooting an AK-47 into the ground of a baseball diamond at Jefferson Elementary School. Both individuals were lodged for charges related to the incident.
So far, the highest recorded blood alcohol level from this year’s patrol effort is 0.31, but blood test results take time to come back. JCSO emphasized that arrests are based on a person’s level of impairment, not necessarily for the amount of alcohol or other substances consumed.
DUII Arrests by Agency
Jackson County Sheriff’s Office: 7
Medford Police Department: 6
Central Point Police Department: 2
Oregon State Police: 1
Phoenix Police Department: 1
Talent Police Department: 1
Eagle Point Police Department: 1
4 arrested in New Year’s Eve bombing plot in California, FBI says
According to the Justice Department and the FBI, the group planned bombing attacks at midnight on NYE targeting businesses and ICE agents.
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Four people were arrested and charged in an alleged New Year’s Eve pipe bombing plot that targeted at least five locations across Southern California, the FBI announced on Monday, Dec. 15.
The defendants are accused of being members of an offshoot of the Turtle Island Liberation Front, or TILF, a group federal officials said is motivated by extremist pro-Palestinian, anti-law-enforcement and anti-government ideology, FBI Director Kash Patel posted in an announcement on social media.
According to Patel, the group was allegedly planning coordinated improvised explosive device, or IED, bombing attacks on New Year’s Eve, targeting at least five separate businesses across Los Angeles and Orange County. Charging documents said the plan involved planting backpacks with the explosive devices, to be simultaneously detonated.More: Which stars are performing on New Year’s Eve 2025? See the lineup
“The handwritten plan stated the ‘ieds’ would be ‘complex pipe bombs,’ included instructions on how to manufacture the bombs, and included guidance to avoid leaving evidence behind that could be traced back to the co-conspirators,” court papers claimed.
Law enforcement investigation “prevented what would have been a massive and horrific plot in the Central District of California,” U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement Nov. 15.
A fifth person was arrested by the FBI in New Orleans, Patel said, for allegedly “planning a separate violent attack.” That suspect, the director said, is also believed to be linked to TILF.FBI says antifa is top domestic concern: The official who said it couldn’t say why.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli also old reporters on Nov. 15 the four defendants, all from Los Angeles, targeted multiple businesses, calling their threats organized, sophisticated and radical. Essayli would not name the businesses targeted but told reporters they were logistic companies.
In addition to businesses, authorities said the group planned to target U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and vehicles.
Who are the four charged in LA New Year’s Eve terror plot?
Authorities identified the defendants as Audrey Ilene Carroll, 30; Dante Garfield, 24; Zachary Aaron Page, 32; and Tina Lai, 41. They said the four were arrested “without incident” on Dec. 12.
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The defendants are charged in federal court with conspiracy and possession of an unregistered destructive device, court papers reviewed by USA TODAY show.
The four were expected for their first appearance in federal court later on Dec. 15, Essayli told reporters.
Additional charges are expected in the coming weeks as investigators review the evidence, he said.
‘Death to ICE’
During a search of the suspects’ homes, law enforcement said they found multiple posters associated with Turtle Island, and other evidence including a detailed copy of the planned attack.
“Death to ICE,” was written on one piece of evidence, officials said.What we know: Who were the shooters in attack at Australia’s Bondi Beach?
FBI Assistant Director in Charge Akil Davis said pipe bombs that the group planned to test in a desert were expected to blow up at midnight on New Year’s Eve.
During the press conference, officials played video evidence of the defendants in the desert that the FBI alleged show the group planning to test the bombs.
‘A credible, imminent terrorist threat’
In his statement, Patel said the FBI disrupted a “credible, imminent terrorist attack” and praised investigators and law enforcement partners.
“Their work undoubtedly saved countless lives,” Patel wrote.More: Rob Reiner, wife Michele Singer dead, son Nick arrested
Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell and Los Angeles Sheriff Robert Luna, who also spoke at the news conference, both thanked all agencies involved in the case.
“You deserve to feel safe and we are committed to ensuring that safety today,” Luna said.
