Whenever The Daily Show’s Jon Stewart had to report on a tragedy like Friday’s terrorist attacks on Paris, he would temporarily drop the jokes and speak candidly. Serious Jon was a little jarring to watch, at least the first couple of times, and that successfully conveyed the gravity of situation.
There’s this guy Kyle on the currently airing third season of TLC’s harrowing 90 Day Fiance who is terrifyingly blasé about his New Orleans house’s cockroach infestation. He chalks it up to the fact that he lives in a “bachelor pad” and seems only concerned about it because it bothers his fiance Noon, who has moved from Thailand to be with him. (She’s in the States on a K-1 or “fiance” visa, which requires her to marry Kyle after 90 days if she’s to stay in the country—hence the show’s name.)
Rachel Dolezal is still up to her old tricks—chiefly, identifying as black and saying little beyond that when questioned about virtually anything—per her appearance on today’s episode of The Real, the View-style roundtable talk show whose panel is made up entirely of women of color. God knows why Dolezal appeared on the show—her internet-breaking notoriety earlier this year now seems several lifetimes ago. Certainly, the women on the panel came ready to hand Dolezal her ass.
Leah Remini has been openly critical of the religion she spent over 30 years practicing, Scientology, since her 2013 departure from the church. On tonight’s episode of 20/20, she appeared to share more behind-the-scenes details and promote her upcoming book, Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology.
“My name is Minga!”
Paula Deen, a famous racist, vogued last night on Dancing With the Stars. Voguing is a style of dance that was created and cultivated for the most part by black and Latin gay men and trans women. (See Paris Is Burning.) It was then mainstreamed by Madonna, whose Marie Antoinette-inspired performance at the 1990 VMAs Deen attempted to replicate.
Gilmore Girls ended in May, 2007. Now Gilmore Girls is reportedly coming back, with new episodes, to Netflix. New episodes. Gilmore Girls. Netflix.
“I never had anybody in 12 years of doing this who gave me as hard a time [as you],” Tavis Smiley told dancer/choreographer Twyla Tharp at the end of their 30-minute interview, which aired Friday. At 74, she’s a firecracker, man—and one who referred to Smiley as “man” about half a dozen times. Highlights are in this reel, man:
Happy election day, Canada! Congratulations on learning that today is Canadian election day, America! Here’s John Oliver explaining Canada’s three main political parties and making a last-minute plea to our friends to the north to dump “dickhead” conservative prime minister Stephen Harper.
Last night, HBO aired the one-hour standup special Amy Schumer: Live at the Apollo. It was good, if you’re into that sort of thing (i.e. Schumer being Schumer). My favorite bit centered on cum. It started, “I’m just reminding you that we’re all disgusting. No one in here is better than anyone else. Like, you’ve all caught a hot load, you know?”
The smugly white performance artist Ann Coulter appeared on today’s episode of The View in yet another stop on her unending publicity tour for her recent book. The ensuing segment has it all! By all, I mean:
I forgive you for thinking you’d seen the dumbest-ever attempt to solve a puzzle on Wheel of Fortune. I was once like you. “Self-Potato.” “I Have the Wine by Johnny Cash.” I’ve loved them all. But I am here today to tell you I have now witnessed an even less competent response, and open your eyes to levels of Wheel misfortune previously unknown.
A documentary about trans women and the men who love them called Sex Diaries: Trans Lovers aired on the U.K.’s Channel 4 last night. It was a regularly fascinating glimpse into a subject that’s still so taboo, host/director Charlie Russell reported early on that finding men to talk about their relationships with trans women wasn’t easy.
Everyone’s favorite Slovenian philosopher/Marxist/accidental plagiarist Slavoj Žižek appeared on last night’s Tavis Smiley for the second time in a week. He has that much to say. So much to say. Like 10 orgasms at the same time’s worth of stuff to say. Check it out above or read the passage where he really takes off below:
On today’s Ellen, Ellen DeGeneres presented a “very exclusive sneak peek” of the upcoming ABC Family sitcom about Nicki Minaj’s early life. What ran was a satirical sketch that amounted to a little over of a minute of modern minstrelsy in which members of a black family bumbled around their house impeded by their giant asses. They knocked stuff over with their big butts, and found it challenging to sit on a couch together. The little girl character was made to bend over as she was introduced.
North Dakota: home to a dangerous, loosely-policed oil industry that the state government attracted by being so darn friendly (to businesses). Taxes are low and regulation is “reasonable” (basically nonexistent)—what a state.
Paddy, who hails from Leicester, England, was 7 years old when she was filmed for the documentary Born in the Wrong Body: My Transgender Kid, which aired this week on Channel 4 in the U.K. The clip above of Paddy discussing her gender identity with prodigious clarity is just perfect. I love it so much. I can’t stop watching.
