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13 May 2024

Lizzo Speaks Out in Support of Palestine, Sudan, DR Congo & College Protests: ‘We Ain’t Free ‘Til We All Free’

More and more celebrities are speaking up amid devastating violence, genocide and famine in Palestine, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Lizzo took to Instagram on Monday (May 13) to join the conversation.

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“I just want to take a second and give a personal thank you to all of the activists who have been working tirelessly to help the liberation and the freedom of the people who have been genocided all over the world, specifically Palestine, Sudan and the Congo,” she shared in an Instagram video, speaking directly to the camera. “As someone who has worked closely with activists, I know the toll it can take on your mental and your physical and it can feel thankless so if you have not heard it today, thank you. Your work is not in vain. You have helped so many people, you have saved literal lives and, on a personal note, you have activated me.”

The “Special” singer added that she was “in a deep, dark depression” and “had some mental health crises and episodes” over the last year, which left her in “an emotional state where I could not process or handle anything. It was very dark.”

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She continued, “I’m not saying this to make excuses, nor do I want sympathy. I just haven’t been able to be transparent with y’all in a long time. This has been weighing on my heart to share with y’all. The people in my life who love and care about me, they helped me get out of this dark space. I appreciate them, kind words from people on the internet, they really motivated me, but also the activism that I’ve been seeing has been extremely motivating. Y’all have really motivated me to get my a– up and get back to who I am.”

Lizzo concluded her message by shouting out the students who have been tirelessly protesting on college campuses, as well as organizations like Operation Olive Branch, which have been working to connect people directly with struggling Palestinian families. “I have been reaching out to activists seeing how I can help and stay tuned for more information on how you can help these ongoing genocides in the world because we ain’t free ’til we all free,” she shared.

Watch Lizzo’s full video below.

13 May 2024

Aitana On How She Made “AKUREYRI” With Sebastián Yatra | How It Went Down | Billboard

In today’s episode of ‘How It Went Down,’ Spanish star Aitana shares how she created her new song “AKUREYKI” and making the music video with her co-writer, Colombian star, Sebastián Yatra.

Aitana
Well the truth is this is my third song with Sebastián Yatra. We seem to understand each other quite well in the studio, that’s for sure. The truth is that I will tell you that “AKUREYRI” is the song we started in Iceland on a trip we both made in 2023 for the first time for my birthday and we bought a guitar. We went to buy a guitar and Sebastián started trying out different guitars I was recording at the little shop and he started with the chords to “AKUREYRI” then he started, I don’t know, like throwing some verse, I don’t know like some verses and then I came up with the melody…I have that recorded on a video, you know? Like literally and Sebastián said to me, that melody is very pretty and then we kind of said ah, let’s start a song. We took the guitar and started the song in a car and there they began the first verses and the first tunes for “AKUREYRI” and then later on we finished it in Mexico. It’s a song that took months, it’s not a typical song that you make in a day or a week, but it is a song that we gave a lot of time and in very different conditions. Sebastián is a very versatile artist. In other words, like he can really make a song that makes you dance, or a song that will make you cry for a whole week if you need to.

13 May 2024

‘Interview With a Vampire’ Season 2 Is Here: How to Watch the Reboot Online for Free

All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.

The much-anticipated second season of Interview With a Vampire made its grand premiere on AMC and AMC+ Sunday (May 12), continuing the second half of Anne Rice’s book of the same name that was first published in 1991. Starring Jacob Anderson and Sam Reid, the series also acts as a reboot, adapting the 1994 Interview With a Vampire movie starring Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise.

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Season two of the drama/fantasy series will look a little different from the first as one of its main characters, Claudia, was recast, with Delainey Hayles replacing season one’s Bailey Bass. Unforeseen circumstances were Bass’ reasoning for not returning, according to Deadline.

Hayles will take on the role as Claudia with her and Louis de Pointe du Lac (Anderson) traveling through a war-torn Paris after leaving Lestat de Lioncourt (Reid) for dead. The two hope to rebuild their lives and seek out their own kind, which leads to them discovering the Théâtre des Vampires — a coven led by Santiago (Ben Daniels), who appears more trusting than he is. With new dangers lurking in the shadow, Louis must figure out how to survive, embrace a new love and leave the past where it belongs.

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Keep reading to learn the streaming options for Interview With a Vampire online.

How to Watch Interview With a Vampire (2024) Online

New episodes of Interview With a Vampire will air live every Sunday at 9 p.m. ET on AMC and AMC+ for a total of eight episodes. If you have live cable, you can watch the show on TV through AMC (check your cable provider for the exact channel).

Want to stream the Interview With a Vampire series online? Keep reading to see what streaming platforms offer AMC and AMC+.

Prime Video

Don’t have cable? Cord cutters can still watch Interview With a Vampire online through a few streaming options. You can sign up for AMC+ or, if you’re a Prime member, you can add AMC+ as a premium channel to your subscription. Prime members will get a seven-day free trial, which means you can stream Interview with a Vampire for free. Once your free trial is over, you’ll be charged $4.99 a month in addition to your Prime membership fee.

If you’re not a Prime member, Amazon is offering new users a 30-day free trial when you sign up. You’ll also be able to stack on the AMC+ seven day free trial through Prime Video giving you all the benefits of a Prime membership as well as access to AMC+ content for free. Once both free trials are over, you’ll be charged $14.99/ month or $139 a year for a Prime membership as well as $4.99 a month for AMC+.

DirecTV Stream

DirecTV Stream features a lineup of more than 90 channels including AMC, so you can livestream new episodes of Interview With a Vampire. New users will receive a five-day free trial when you sign up for one of the three packages available. Packages start at $80 a month and once the free trial is over, you’ll be charged based on the package you choose at checkout.

Along with hundreds of channels to watch at your leisure, you’ll also receive local channels, unlimited DVR storage and three months of premium channels including Showtime and Max for free.

Sling TV

Sling TV is another affordable option that’s offering up to 63% off your first month dropping the price to as low as $15-$20 (reg. $40). All three packages available come with AMC and provide you with 30+ live channels including entertainment and sports options. After your first month, you’ll be charged the regular subscription price based on the package you choose.

Philo

Philo is giving new users a seven-day free trial when you sign up, which means you can watch Interview With a Vampire and more for free. You’ll have access to more than 70 live TV channels as well as unlimited DVR storage to record content to watch later. Once the free trial is over, you’ll be charged the regular subscription price of $25 a month.

How to Watch Interview With a Vampire (1994) Movie At Home

If you’re curious about the Interview With a Vampire movie that inspired the reboot, there are a few ways you can watch the movie at home.

Max is the official streaming platform for Interview With a Vampire (1994) allowing Max members to watch the movie for no additional cost. While Max doesn’t come with a free trial, it does offer a wallet-friendly ad-supported plan at just $9.99 a month. If you’d prefer no commercials, you can opt for the ad-free plan for $15.99 a month or go with the Ultimate Ad-Free package for $19.99 a month, which will allow you to watch content on four devices at once stream in 4K UHD, Dolby Atmos, Dolby Vision and HDR 10 on select titles as well as have 100 downloads to watch programs on the go.

Prime members can also add Max as a premium channel onto your subscription through the Prime Channel storefront.

If you’d rather rent or buy the movie to own digitally, Prime Video is offering rentals for $4 or you can buy Interview With a Vampire for $15. You don’t have to be a Prime member to watch the movie either — once your purchase the film it’ll automatically be downloaded to your digital library to watch whenever.

Collectors can also purchase a Blu-ray edition of Interview With a Vampire through Amazon, Walmart and Target.

dvd cover of interview with a vampire

“Interview With The Vampire”

$19.99

$8.99

$14.98

40% off

$8.99

Discover the original movie that helped inspire the reboot featuring Pitt and Cruise as the lead stars. The Blu-ray edition of Interview With a Vampire will also give you special features including behind-the-scenes footage and deleted scenes for an even more in-depth look at the film.

Is Interview With a Vampire On Amazon Prime?

Since AMC+ is available as a premium channel option through the Prime Channel storefront, that means that you can watch Interview With a Vampire on Prime Video. It’s only offered as an add-on to your subscription, which means just having a Prime membership won’t grant you access to all the episodes.

How Many Episodes of Interview With a Vampire Are There?

Season one of Interview With a Vampire featured seven episodes of the series with the longest episodes running around 71 minutes long. Season two will add an additional episode, giving viewers a total of eight to look forward to. After season two ends, fans will have 15 total episodes of Interview With a Vampire to stream and watch whenever they want.

Check below for a trailer of Interview With a Vampire season two.

13 May 2024

Chris Pratt Jokes Usher Is Wife Katherine Schwarzenegger’s ‘Hall Pass’: ‘I Can’t Blame Her’

Chris Pratt has a confession to make: He might have some competition when it comes to Usher.

The actor revealed in an interview with Entertainment Tonight on Monday (May 13) that his wife, writer Katherine Schwarzenegger, has a thing for the “Yeah!” singer, especially after his 2024 Super Bowl halftime show performance.

“She knows every word,” Pratt said of the Good Night, Sister author’s knowledge of Usher’s catalog. “I didn’t even know that until we were doing a little road trip and she started putting on Usher. And man, she knows every single word.”

The interview comes about two months after the Garfield voice actor posted a video of Schwarzenegger — who is the daughter of Terminator star Arnold Schwarzenegger — joyously rocking out to Usher’s career-spanning show midway through watching the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs face off in February. “When Usher sang ‘Don’t leave your girl around me’ was he talking to me?” he captioned the clip at the time.

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“So I guess Usher’s her hall pass,” Pratt added in the interview. “I can’t blame her.”

The eight-time Grammy winner’s epic Super Bowl showcase not only featured several of his many Billboard Hot 100 hits from over the years, but cameos from Ludacris, Lil Jon, will.i.am and Alicia Keys. Shortly afterward, four of Usher’s albums made a resurgence on the Billboard 200 chart in the same week that his new record Coming Home debuted at No. 2.

While talking to ET, Pratt also opened up about sharing the new Garfield movie, in which he voices the titular character, with his kids once it hits theaters May 24. The Parks and Rec alum shares son Jack with his ex-wife, actress Anna Faris, as well as daughters Lyla and Eloise with Schwarzenegger.

“They’re ready to see it,” he told the outlet. “This is the kind of movie that they can definitely watch. You know, some animated movies they get a little scary, it’s a little too much for the kids. This is something really fun for all ages.”

13 May 2024

New ‘Disney Jr. Live On Tour’ Show to Hit Over 60 U.S. Cities

Terrapin Station, a division of Sony Music Entertainment, is launching the fifth North American tour built around the successful Disney Jr. Live On Tour franchise, the company announced Monday (May 13).

The new tour, titled Disney Jr. Live On Tour: Let’s Play, is slated to visit more than 60 U.S. cities this fall thanks to aggressive routing, support from new presenting sponsor Walmart and an IP partnership with the extremely popular cable channel, Disney Jr.

The family entertainment industry is experiencing renewed growth in the post-pandemic era as families look for affordable experiences created for young children. But meeting that demand can be a challenge for smaller promoters, many of which struggle to license premium children’s content and compete for venue dates against larger competitors including Feld Entertainment, owners of Ringing Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus, and Round Room Entertainment, a New York-based family show production company that completed a management-led buyout from former owner Hasbro in 2022.

But Terrapin Station CEO Jonathan Shank has found repeat success in the space by partnering with the most prestigious brand in family entertainment and steadily growing the company’s market share. Since launching in 2018, the Disney Jr. Live On Tour has generated $30 million and sold more than 750,000 tickets since launch, he says, adding that Let’s Play has a gross potential of about $8 million.

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“Disney Jr. Live On Tour has continued to grow over the past five years and is now one of the biggest family touring franchises on the road,” said Shank in a statement. “We are thrilled to bring this all-new show to theaters across the country.”

New to the tour this year is the addition of the Little Mermaid-inspired Ariel from the highly anticipated new series Disney Jr.’s Ariel. The character will make her debut alongside Mickey, Minnie, Goofy and characters from other fan-favorite Disney Jr. series including Marvel’s Spidey and his Amazing Friends and SuperKitties. The tour will also feature the iconic clubhouse from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.

Disney Jr. Live On Tour: Let’s Play kicks off Sept. 17 at Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, Calif., and will make the franchise’s first-ever appearance at Los Angeles’ Peacock Theater Sept. 20. Additional stops include The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York, The Opry House in Nashville and the Rosemont Theatre in Chicago.

Disney Visa card members can purchase tickets to Disney Jr. Live On Tour: Let’s Play before the general public starting Tuesday (May 14) at 10 a.m. through Thursday (May 16) at 10 p.m. local time. Additional presales will run throughout the week ahead of the general on-sale beginning Friday (May 17). VIP packages, including admission to the VIP pre-party interactive experience, are also available for purchase.

“We are very excited to introduce preschoolers and their families to our newest series, ‘Disney Jr.’s Ariel,’ with a musical segment starring our young little mermaid,” said Jennifer Rogers Doyle, senior vp of networks franchise management, integrated planning and licensing at Disney Entertainment. “We are also excited to announce that, for the first time, the iconic Clubhouse from ‘Mickey Mouse Clubhouse’ will be incorporated into our live show, ‘Disney Jr. Live On Tour: Let’s Play.’ This will bring the wonderment and delight of the Clubhouse experience to our youngest fans.”

For tour information and to purchase tickets, visit www.disneyjuniortour.com.

13 May 2024

You Can Now Stay in the House Featured in ‘The Idea of You’: Book It on Airbnb

All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.

If you loved, The Idea of You starring Anne Hathaway and Nicholas Galitzine, why not experience their world firsthand by booking the house featured in the movie on Airbnb? This home will transport you into its cinematic world, making you feel like a main character in the movie.

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If you haven’t watched this rom-com yet, don’t fret. You can book your stay and watch the movie there for a one-of-a-kind immersive experience.

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The Idea of You is a Prime Video exclusive, available only on Amazon’s streaming platform. Don’t have a Prime Video subscription? You can sign up for Amazon Prime free trial to access Prime Video movies and more. Prime Video features countless exclusive TV series, movies and other top-notch programs. You can also add Prime Channels such as Paramount+, Max, Starz and Showtime, BET+ and AMC+.

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‘The Idea of You’ Home

Get ready to embark on your own unique journey in a spacious and comfortable space. This Atlanta home features three bedrooms, four beds, and three baths, perfect for a total of six guests.

According to Airbnb, this residence is a guest favorite. Whether you want to book it for a getaway weekend or vacation with your family or friends, you can’t go wrong. One previous guest stated, “I rented this house on behalf of my family. I can say that the house is in an excellent location, situated centrally within an extremely walkable and friendly neighborhood. The home is even larger than the pictures suggest, making it great for my family members of multiple ages.”

So what are you waiting for? Go book your stay now.

13 May 2024

Saweetie, Lucy Liu & More Celebrate Asian Pacific & Multicultural Leaders at 2024 Gold Gala: See the Photos

The third annual Gold Gala event took over the Music Center in downtown Los Angeles on Saturday evening (May 11), celebrating the 2024 A100 list, which counts down the 100 most impactful Asian Pacific changemakers in culture and society over the past year.

The night featured a performance from 2023 A100 honoree Saweetie, who received the first-ever Billboard Gold Music Honor recognizing her boundary-pushing musical accomplishments. “I be shouting out my mama in my songs, my Filipino queen, through my food vlogs, through sharing old pictures of my childhood, I feel like those are the way I connected with my fans and let them know where my roots come from,” the rapper told Billboard on the red carpet on how she incorporates her Filipino and Chinese heritage into her career.

Wicked star Cynthia Erivo received Gold Ally Honor for her work to advance inclusive representation in front of and behind the camera. “This community has been very, very good to me. I hope to do more work with them and spend more time and hopefully connect more,” she told Billboard.

Other honorees included the cast and creators of Emmy-winning Beef, who receive the Gold Icon Honor and Lucy Liu, who earned the lifetime achievement Gold Legend Honor. Hello Kitty’s 50th anniversary was also commemorated with the Gold Generation Award.

The Gold Gala was followed by the inaugural Billboard x Gold House Founders Party, which featured a headlining set from producer/DJ Steve Aoki, as well as a special performance from RuPaul’s Drag Race season 16 winner Nymphia Wind, a karaoke room presented by Rakuten Viki and an additional set from DJ Hu Dat.

In celebration of the Gold Gala, we compiled all the star-studded photos from the red carpet, featuring striking outfits and homages to the celebrities’ Asian heritage. See the photos in the gallery below.

13 May 2024

Halle Bailey Shares Video From Son Halo’s Birth to Celebrate Her First Mother’s Day: Watch

This Mother’s Day is a special one for Halle Bailey: It’s her first as a mom following the arrival of her baby Halo a few months ago. And to celebrate, the vocalist shared a raw video from her son’s birth via Instagram on Sunday (May 12), along with clips from her first few weeks of motherhood.

In the reel, Bailey holds her newborn while still laying in her hospital bed, presumably just moments after welcoming her son. Another shot shows her boyfriend and Halo’s father, rapper DDG, cradling the tiny baby boy.

As the video goes on, Halo gets bigger and bigger through various shots of the Little Mermaid star cuddling her son. In one clip, the baby grabs at her face with his little hands, and in another, she holds him next to a drum set in a recording studio.

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“my first mother’s day,” she captioned the post. “the greatest love i’ve ever known.”

Bailey first announced she’d become a parent on Jan. 6. “Even though we’re a few days into the new year, the greatest thing that 2023 could have done for me, was bring me my son,” she wrote on social media at the time. “Welcome to the world my halo. The world is desperate to know you.”

Last month, the “Angel” singer opened up about her experience with postpartum depression, revealing in a Snapchat video, “I have severe, severe postpartum [depression], and I don’t know if any new moms can relate, but it’s to the point where it’s really bad, and it’s hard for me to be separated from my baby for more than 30 minutes at a time before I start to kind of freak out.”

“When I look at him, I cry because of how special he is,” she added. “The only thing that’s been hard for me is feeling normal in my own body. I feel like a completely different person. When I look in the mirror, I just feel like I’m in a whole new body. Like, I don’t know who I am.”

Though he’s only a few months old, Halo is already a music video star. In the April-released visual for “In Your Hands,” Bailey holds her son while belting the new track.

Watch Bailey’s video below.

13 May 2024

Watch Ariana Grande & Cynthia Erivo Tearfully React to ‘Wicked’ Castings

Just six months remain before the world is changed “For Good.”

In anticipation of part 1 of Jon M. Chu’s upcoming Wicked movie musical, Universal Pictures shared an emotional clip recounting the journey to Wicked from the perspectives of Chu and stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo.

“Whenever anyone asks me what’s the one movie you want to do,” mused Chu, who has previously helmed box-office smashes like 2018’s Crazy Rich Asians, “If there was one, I’d always say it’d be Wicked.”

The fourth-longest-running Broadway show of all time, Wicked pulls inspiration from both the stage musical and the best-selling Gregory Maguire-penned novel of the same name. Grande, who recently topped the Billboard 200 with her Eternal Sunshine LP, is set to star as Glinda the Good Witch, with Erivo, a two-time Academy Award nominee, taking on the iconic role of Elphaba, also known as the Wicked Witch of the West.

“On my 25th birthday, I took myself to see the show,” Erivo reflected in the clip. “I’d never heard anything or seen anything like it. I remember it was a rainy night and I felt really alive. I felt like I was floating on air.”

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No stranger to musicals, Erivo has previously lent her talents to The Color Purple, for which she received the 2016 Tony Award for best leading actress in a musical. She also starred in the 2015 Royal Festival Hall production of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying and the 2016 Town Hall production of Jason Robert Brown’s The Last Five Years. This year, the Emmy, Tony and Grammy winner can be seen in the Lincoln Center production of Stephen Sondheim’s A Little Night Music. Of course, with starring turns in 2019’s Harriet and 2022’s Disney’s Pinocchio, Erivo has also made an impact on the silver screen.

Though she’s best known for Billboard Hot 100-topping hits like “We Can’t Be Friends (Wait for Your Love),” Grande’s acting credits date back to 2008, when she made her Broadway debut in 13, a musical also penned by Brown, with whom Grande later collaborated on “Jason’s Song (Gave It Away)” from 2016’s Dangerous Woman LP.

“I had the incredible privilege of seeing the original Broadway cast of Wicked when I was 10, and I just felt an immediate bond,” Grande says in the video, before it cuts to an old media clip, in which she expresses her desire to play Glinda should Wicked every make it to the big screen. “It’s always been the thing I listen to when I’m nervous, when I’m needing an escape, when I need comfort. I went in for my first audition and I remember buzzing!”

The rest of the clip features behind-the-scenes footage of the film and clips from the phone calls in which Chu officially broke the casting news to Grande and Erivo. Chu gushed that Grande’s audition featured “an Ari that [he’d] never seen before,” while Erivo was “so raw and vulnerable [that] he couldn’t get her out of [his] head.”

Both Grande and Ervio tearfully and graciously accepted their respective offers to join the films’ illustrious cast, with the “7 Rings” singer crying, “Oh my God, thank you! I love [Glinda] so much, I’m gonna take such good care of her!”

“It’s been a really long journey here, and I’m really grateful for it,” says Erivo. “I never thought in my lifetime that I would get to be a part of something like this.”

The rest of the principal Wicked cast will feature Academy Award winner Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible, Olivier winner Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero, Tony nominee Ethan Slater as Boq, Emmy nominee Bowen Yang as Pfannee and Emmy nominee Jeff Goldblum as the Wizard of Oz.

Wicked will be split into two separate movie musicals for the silver screen. The first film is slated to hit theaters on Thanksgiving (Nov. 27), with the second film following almost exactly a year later on Nov. 26, 2025. The film’s first trailer debuted during the 2024 Super Bowl, giving fans a taste of both the whimsical world of Oz and Erivo’s version of the iconic “Defying Gravity” closing riff popularized by Idina Menzel, who won the 2004 leading actress in a musical Tony for the original production of Wicked.

“I want people to see Wicked and experience it in a way they’ve never experienced before,” Chu proclaims at the end of the clip. “I want them to feel what I felt going into the theater for the first time. I want to make them laugh, to make them sing, to make them feel that after they’ve watched it, they’ve been changed for good.”

Watch Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo emotionally accept their Wicked castings below.

13 May 2024

Bear Expert Confirms, Men Are The Bigger Threat To Women

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Bear Expert Confirms Men Are Bigger Threats To Woman

Source: 6381380 / Getty / Bear

A huge debate on TikTok has been settled regarding bears, men, and who women feel is safer around.

A video of a TikToker asking women on the street if they would feel safer alone in the woods with a bear or with an unknown man, and every woman, except one, resoundingly chose the bear.

As expected, men were in their feelings at the idea of women choosing to be alone with a bear rather than be in the presence of an unknown man due to understandable concerns of safety cause, and historically, men are nuts.

Well, TMZ spoke with a wildlife ecologist who is an expert on bears, and she broke down why the women choosing the bear are not far off in their assessment of men as the more significant threat.

Per TMZ:

Rae Wynn-Grant — a wildlife ecologist who got her PhD in all things bears — laid it out for TMZ … telling us these animals want nothing to do with humans in the wild and avoid us at all costs… unless food is involved, of course. She can’t say the same for guys.

RWG says … “I think this is a clever way for women to suggest to the wider world, particularly to men, that we, as women, feel constantly under threat.”

She adds … “And, that speaks volumes when it comes to time alone with a man compared to time alone with a predator, like a bear.” Rae goes on to say that bears are not naturally aggressive — contrary to the image they’ve cultivated — and they really don’t seek trouble.

Wynn-Grant also says the data is unequivocally in favor of bears over men, and if she had to choose, of course, she would want to be alone with the bear.

Well, there you have it.

You can see her break it down in her own words in the video below.