National pride? Disgrace? Somewhere in the middle? A photo of two servicewomen breastfeeding their children while in uniform has gone viral and added a new layer to the ongoing debate over nursing in public. It’s probably safe to say the Time Magazine breastfeeding cover went over quite well with Mom2Mom, a breastfeeding support group for military mothers. In a series of tasteful professional photos showing beaming moms nursing kids, one jumps out for obvious reasons: the photo of two servicewomen below … “A lot of people are saying it’s a disgrace to the uniform. They’re comparing it to urinating and defecating [while in uniform],” says Crystal Scott, a military spouse living at Fairchild AFB outside Spokane, Wash., who started Mom2Mom in January. “It’s extremely upsetting. Defecating in public is illegal. Breastfeeding is not.” It was Scott’s idea to ask photographer Brynja Sigurdardottir to take the photos and create posters for National Breastfeeding Awareness Month in August. One of the moms photographed in uniform, Terran Echegoyen-McCabe, breastfeeds her 10-month-old twin girls on her lunch breaks during drill weekends. “I have breast-fed in our lobby, in my car, in the park … and I pump, usually in the locker room,” says the proud member of the Air National Guard.” “I’m proud to be wearing a uniform while breastfeeding. I hope [the photo] encourages other women to know they can, whether they’re active duty, guard or civilian.” She said she’s surprised by the reaction to the photos, which also feature her friend Christina Luna, because it never occurred to her it would cause a stir. “There isn’t a policy saying we can or cannot breastfeed in uniform,” Echegoyen-McCabe says. “I think we do need to be able to breastfeed in uniform and be protected.” What do you think? Should they be allowed to?
This ish is crazy! Five years ago, this guy Steve went into the hospital with a kidney stone and it was discovered that he also had the internal sex organs of a woman . After being married for 25 years with six kids he kept his family intact, but started living as a woman named Stevie instead! “I had a kidney stone and we’re in the emergency room,” Stevie told Fox affiliate KDVR. “The nurse is reading the ultrasound and says, ‘Huh, this says you’re a female.’” Stevie was shocked, but not incredibly surprised. “It validated everything I had always felt inside,” she said. In retrospect, the diagnosis makes sense, she explains. “I remember wearing my mom’s clothes and makeup, very secretly, not telling anybody,” Stevie told the station. “When I was 17, I was working my first part-time job at a TV station as a floor cameraman and the person in charge said to me, ‘You know, you walk like a queer,’” she added. “And I thought I was hiding who I was, and I wasn’t.” So Steve decided to begin living as Stevie — as a woman. Part of the process was explaining the decision to her children. “How do you tell your kids that, well, it’s no longer dad, it’s dadette?” she said. But all of them, and Stevie’s wife, were supportive. “Within a few minutes, all of them said, ‘I don’t care dad; I love you for who you are.” Five years later, Stevie lives happily as a woman. She takes hormones but has no plans to undergo gender reassignment surgery. And she’s still married. “I didn’t sign on for this, but who signs on for anything?” Debbie Crecelius, Stevie’s wife, told KDVR. “She’s the same person she was as a he on the inside.” The couple still live together and share a bed. “She relates to my heart and soul, and I still relate to hers,” Stevie said. “And I think that that’s the essence of true love.” That ish cray!
The Film : Putney Swope (1969), now available via The Criterion Collection’s Up All Night With Robert Downey Sr. box set Why It’s an Inessential Essential : Filmmaker Robert Downey Sr. is probably more famous for being the father of Iron Man ‘s megastar than he is for his scathing and surreal comedies. As part of the New York underground scene of avant garde filmmakers, Downey’s films, like the 1979 absurdist acid western Greaser’s Palace, are probably more linear and narrative-driven than most of his peers’ films. So it’s fitting that the stand-out title in the Criterion Collection’s new box set is both his most popular film and also his straight-est comedy. Putney Swope is a black comedy that suggests that power not only corrupts but that there’s also no real way to “keep it real.” The title character, played by Arnold Johnson, is democratically voted president of an ad agency which he proceeds to gut and then run into the ground according to his negotiable principles. Swope’s Black Panther-like comrades quickly replace a bunch of mealy-mouthed white guys, but everyone in the film has their own money-minded agendas to pursue. For starters, the old, white Madison Avenue ad executives — like the one who demands a raise, a private box at Shea Stadium and 22 weeks of vacation per year — want security and promotions. Next, Swope’s new sycophants — like the guy that suggests communicating via the drum — want money and status, too. And their clients are just as unscrupulous: As long as an ad campaign is successful, they don’t care how their product is sold, even if it means selling acne cream called Face Off with a facetiously sentimental jingle about “dry-hump[ing] behind the hot dog stand” and “beaver”-flashing. Worst of all, Swope is totally corrupt — both morally and creatively bankrupt. His idea of a good commercial for an airline involves naked women, a trampoline jump and a lottery ticket. And because nobody knows what they’re doing, Swope and his company, rechristened Truth and Soul Inc., makes a mint. With its neo-screwball dialogue and bizarre sight gags, Putney Swope is a demented good time. How the DVD Makes the Case for the Film : The box set featuring Putney Swope doesn’t doesn’t include any special features or interviews with Robert Downey Sr., but it does include four of his other films ( Babo 73, Chafed Elbows, No More Excuses, Two Tons of Turquoise to Taos Tonight ). Of these four, the one that’s closest in tone to Putney Swope is No More Excuses (1968), which pokes fun at the very idea of being “liberated” during the sexual revolution. However, film critic Michael Koresky does contribute an informative and well-written pair of essays on Downey’s films and the historical context within which they were made. For starters, Koresky points out that Downey drew on his own personal experiences as a disgruntled ad executive when making Putney Swope ; Downey made a Preparation H commercial where a Chinese woman says, “No matter what your ethnic affliction, use Preparation H and kiss your hemorrhoids goodbye!” As Koresky points out, that commercial was rejected in real life — but it is featured in No More Excuses . Other Interesting Trivia : One of the more interesting bits of trivia featured in Koresky’s essays is a tidbit about Putney’s voice: Downey Sr. dubbed over Johnson’s voice with his own. According to Koresky, Downey did this because Johnson couldn’t remember any of his lines. PREVIOUS INESSENTIAL ESSENTIALS The Last Temptation of Christ The Sitter Citizen Ruth The Broken Tower Dogville Night Call Nurses Strange Fruit: The Beatles’ Apple Records Jeremiah Johnson Being John Malkovich Simon Abrams is a NY-based freelance film critic whose work has been featured in outlets like The Village Voice, Time Out New York, Vulture and Esquire. Additionally, some people like his writing, which he collects at Extended Cut .
This week marks the big screen return of Will Smith — Hollywood’s most bankable star — after a four year absence from acting, during which time the erstwhile Fresh Prince refocused his personal pursuit of happiness: namely, producing the burgeoning entertainment careers of kids Jaden and Willow Smith, while fine-tuning his own career. So where do you go when you’re already on top — or were, a few films ago? Back to the blockbuster well, if you’re Smith, whose Men in Black 3 headlines the latest step in a lifetime career plan that, he describes, began when he was just a kid himself. “I like big movies,” admitted Smith to journalists at the Men in Black 3 press day in Los Angeles, “and the adjustment I’m making in my career right now is the clarity of what we’re saying with the movie. There has to be an idea, there has to be some message or some statement, for me.” Even, say, in a threequel about aliens wreaking havoc on earth? Despite widespread reports of the chaotic Men in Black 3 production — filming without a finished script, for starters — Smith insists these essential messages are there to be found as viewers watch his Agent J traipse back in time to the 1960s to save the younger version of his partner, Agent K (played by Josh Brolin , channeling Tommy Lee Jones with uncanny aplomb). “With Men in Black 3 we connected to the destructive nature of secrets,” he explained. “That idea whether you get that or not, when you look at it or think about it, that’s what we’re displaying, and how a relationship can get repaired and go to another level through the exposure of a secret.” At the age of 43, the Oscar- and Golden Globe-nominated Smith is almost twice as old as he was when he first rose to popularity on his TV show The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air . And though he’s still got those baby faced looks and an effervescent energy about him, he espouses the kind of philosophical musings of someone who’s managed to avoid the pitfalls of fame through sheer determination. “I control every interaction with every human being that I’m with,” he proclaimed. “That a person isn’t just an asshole, or a person isn’t crazy; if I’m aware, I can actually manage any situation with 98 percent of the people on Earth.” Of course, there’s the odd fan who’ll go in for one too many kisses on the red carpet — like the Ukrainian journalist at the center of last week’s widely reported Men in Black 3 premiere incident (which occurred after this interview). “There are some lunatics that you just can’t do nothing with them,” Smith said with a smile, “but for the most part you play a part in every aspect of your life going the way you want, or not going the way that you want.” That self-determining secret to success is something that Smith also says he and wife Jada Pinkett-Smith try to impart to their children, Willow and Jaden. “The idea of failure is a label,” said Smith. “It has no bearing on what actually happened. What actually happened can turn out to be the best thing that ever happened to you if you decide that it’s the best thing that ever happened to you. So for me, the big thing with my kids is you have to control how you label things, because they’re going to become what you say it is. It’s very important to me that they understand the power they have to create the lives that they want.” “Willow, for example — we were getting flack for letting Willow cut her hair,” he said. “If I teach her that I’m in charge of whether or not she can touch her hair, she’s going to replace me with some other man when she goes out in the world. Now, she can’t cut my hair! [Laughs] But that’s her hair. To me it’s more about lumping the responsibility on them for their lives, as much weight as they can hold without breaking… that’s what we try to give them until they can hold the full weight of their lives.” [To son Jaden, with whom Smith co-starred in The Pursuit of Happyness and appears in M. Night Shyamalan’s After Earth : “I tell him all the time, ‘Son, I’m going to teach you everything that I know — and if you work hard, you can be the second biggest movie star in the world.’”] This brings Smith full circle, in a way, with the roots of his own success, which he credits to soaking up the pop cultural trifecta of Star Wars , hip-hop, and TV’s Dallas as a child. “It just felt like somehow the limits got knocked off after I saw [ Star Wars ],” Smith recalled. He was 10 years-old when he first saw the sci-fi classic. “It coincided right with the time that ‘Rapper’s Delight’ came out, so it was the introduction to rap music and Star Wars in the same year. Rap music was something that only people in New York did, and it was separate and you couldn’t get it, but part of the experience of Star Wars made me think, ‘Oh, I can rap.’ My mind got expanded in a way that’s really hard to explain.” Add to that the sprawling estate that the Ewing family lived on in Dallas and Smith’s lifelong inspiration was set. “Grown people lived on the property and came to breakfast and everybody worked in the family business, and I was like, ‘I want that!’” he exclaimed. “So I’ve been like a mad scientist trying to build Dallas through Star Wars and rap music.” Men in Black 3 is in theaters Friday. Follow Jen Yamato on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
We knew Bar Refaeli was hot, but apparently, there’s no one hotter. The supermodel tops Maxim’s Hot 100 list this year – and it’s not hard to see why. Refaeli tells the magazine in its issue, on stands May 29, that she was “shocked that among all of these beautiful ladies, I’m number one.” Based on the image below, we’re not really. The top 10 was voted on by readers for the first time. Note the lack of Kim Kardashian, named the hottest woman on Earth by another magazine this week. Guess Zoo and Maxim don’t have the same subscribers: Bar Refaeli Olivia Munn Mila Kunis Katy Perry Olivia Wilde Jennifer Lawrence Emma Stone Megan Fox Malin Akerman Adrianne Palicki Other beauties included in the coveted Hot 100 in the new issue include Blake Lively; Charlize Theron; Rihanna; and Amanda Knox. Yes, that Amanda Knox . No comment there. Here’s another one of their Bar Refaeli pictures :
Heading into Monday’s performance finale on Season 14 of Dancing With the Stars, it was anybody’s game . Heading into the final results show, it still is! The most evenly-matched final three in history lived up to that billing, finishing within a single point of each other after six great routines. Let’s revisit them all, shall we? William Levy & Cheryl Burke – Cha Cha Cha (DWTS Week 10) Head judge Len Goodman said that William Levy’s show-opening cha-cha was as good as any he has seen in 14 seasons. He got a 30 for it. Katherine Jenkins & Mark Ballas – Paso Doble (DWTS Week 10) There was no less love for Katherine Jenkins’ paso doble, which Len said was “full of tasty tidbits to tickle your taste buds.” Crickets . 30. Donald Driver & Peta Murgatroyd – Argentine Tango (DWTS Week 10) Donald Driver fell short – by a single point – in merely scraping together 10s from Bruno and Carrie Ann Inaba for his Argentine tango. William Levy & Cheryl Burke – Freestyle (DWTS Week 10) In the lift-happy freestyle round, William and Cheryl Burke’s tango / samba / salsa whatever earned them a 29 for a total of 59 Monday. Katherine Jenkins & Mark Ballas – Freestyle (DWTS Week 10) Mark Ballas hit the jackpot with the swing routine he crafted for Katherine, sweeping her (and the judges) off their feet for another 30. Donald Driver & Peta Murgatroyd – Freestyle (DWTS Week 10) Peta Murgatroyd literally bled for her freestyle. She got knocked in the face by her beefy partner during rehearsal, but rallied for a 29. The scores after Monday’s performance finale, which will account for half the overall scores this evening along with America’s votes: Katherine Jenkins & Mark Ballas (30, 30): 60 William Levy & Cheryl Burke (30, 29): 59 Donald Driver & Peta Murgatroyd (29, 30): 59 Yup. Basically, it’s all your votes to decide this one. Who should win Dancing With the Stars?
Usher took the stand yesterday in the custody trial brought on by ex-wife Tameka Foster – who has accused the singer of drug use and demanded the use of his mansion – and broke down in tears. Usher quoted his ex as threatening: “I’m gonna kick your ass. Bitch get out of the car. How dare you bring this woman into my subdivision in my house?” and added: “She continued to spit. At this point she pulled the door open, tried to swing at her.” Foster herself has admitted under oath that she told Usher “I will f-ck you up,” while Usher said here Tameka hit him and threw a plate of food at his car while he and his unnamed girlfriend drove away. Later in his testimony, meanwhile, Usher responded to photos of him partying in Europe and allegations by Foster’s attorney that he’s an unfit parent by breaking down in tears. TMZ sources say Usher admitted to marijuana use, while an objection was made to the topic of ecstasy – and the artist didn’t give a clear response to whether he had ever been with his children while under the influence. The custody trial continues today.
Just two days after John Travolta’s first accuser filed papers to dismiss his sexual battery lawsuit against the actor, the second accuser has followed suit. The second accuser, also a male masseur, just fired his lawyer and will reportedly file new papers in an effort to dismiss the lawsuit in the near future. The second accuser had claimed Travolta assaulted him on January 28 at an Atlanta spa resort. Travolta allegedly grabbed the masseur’s penis, etc. It’s the last remaining lawsuit against Travolta, as both the third accuser (Fabian Zanzi) and the fourth accuser who came forward today have not filed. The first accuser, who had claimed a similar junk-grabbing incident occurred on January 16 at the Beverly Hills Hotel, dropped his lawsuit on Tuesday. Attorney Okorie Okorocha, who repped both accusers, claims he doesn’t know why his second client called it quits , but both have hired Gloria Allred . John Travolta is quick to deny reports that he paid off the men. His lawyer, Marty Singer, says, “Not one penny has been paid nor do we have any intention to pay any money for these ridiculous and false claims.” [Photo: WENN.com]
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s estranged wife Mary Kennedy died as a result of asphyxiation by hanging, confirming a report that surfaced yesterday. Now it’s official, according to the Westchester County medical examiner. The medical examiner’s report does not use the word “suicide,” although it’s being widely reported (and probably accurate) that Mary committed suicide . Police found Mary Kennedy dead yesterday afternoon at her home in Bedford, N.Y. She was already dead by the time authorities arrived at the home. According to the Bedford Police Department, officers responded to Mary’s home to investigate a possible ” unattended death ,” meaning no one saw it. Mary and RFK Jr., the son of Robert F. Kennedy and the nephew of president John F. Kennedy, had four children. They separated back in 2010. Her death marked the final event in a life that had turned tumultuous of late and adds yet another dark moment in the Kennedy family’s history. Psychologists said events in her recent history, such as reports of alcohol and drug abuse and psychiatric problems, pointed to an increased risk of suicide. [Photo: WENN.com]
Kim Kardashian and Kanye West Have Dinner in London With Jay-Z, Rita Ora, Rob Kardashian Of course they were all photographed “semi-separately,” but Kim Kardashian and Kanye West hit up Zuma restaurant for dinner in London where Jay-Z , Rita Ora, and Rob Kardashian happen to be as well. Kim is kickin it with Yeezy and Jay for their European tour, so expect to see more pics of them “elsewhere in the world.” Peep more pics on the flippy.
