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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.
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Source: NurPhoto / Getty / TikTok
Following President Biden keeping his promise and signing the bill that could ban TikTok in the United States, the social media platform is suing in hopes of keeping that from happening.
Spotted on the AP, TikTok and its China-based parent company ByteDance sued the US Government, challenging the law and calling for the potential banning of the popular video-sharing app and most young adults’ source of “news” if it fails to find a US-approved buyer.
ByteDance has nine months to find a buyer and gets a three-month grace period if it finds a US-approved buyer.
The lawsuit claims the US Government’s law is an attack on free speech that has never been done before and unfairly singles out TikTok.
Per The AP:
In its lawsuit, ByteDance says the new law vaguely paints its ownership of TikTok as a national security threat in order to circumvent the First Amendment, despite no evidence that the company poses a threat. It also says the law is so “obviously unconstitutional” that its sponsors are instead portraying it as a way to regulate TikTok’s ownership.
“For the first time in history, Congress has enacted a law that subjects a single, named speech platform to a permanent, nationwide ban, and bars every American from participating in a unique online community with more than 1 billion people worldwide,” ByteDance asserts in the lawsuit filed in a Washington appeals court.
President Biden signed the law as part of a larger foreign aid package. This law is the first time the US has imposed a potential ban on a single social media company.
Advocates of free speech argue that the law is similar to the behavior of oppressive regimes like China, which is ironic because the US is trying to keep US citizen’s private data out of the hands of the Chinese government.
More Details From TikTok’s Lawsuit
The lawsuit states that ByteDance has no intention of selling TikTok, which aligns with reports that the company prefers a ban over a sale. However, if it did, ByteDance would need Beijing’s blessing to make that happen.
Another sticking point is TikTok’s algorithm, which has been the “key to the success of TikTok in the United States,” which the Chinese government “made clear” in its lawsuit would be part of any sale.
According to both entities, the new law would force them to shut down in the US by Jan.19 because operating in the US would be technologically and legally impossible.
The lawsuit also claims that a US-only version of TikTok would be technologically impossible because there would be no “operational relationship” between the US TikTok app and the Chinese company.
While we don’t know what TikTok’s fate will be, one thing is for sure: This will be a long, drawn-out situation.
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Source: LinkedIn / LinkedIn Games
You can now play some games on LinkedIn before you embark on your daily job hunt.
LinkedIn is the latest company to enter the video gaming market. Spotted on The Verge, the social media platform mainly used by people to find employment and share their accomplishments, will now allow its users to play games.
The company isn’t selling games or making users pay a subscription fee to play its offering of three games, Pinpoint, Queens, and Crossclimb, yet.
Users can play each of them once per day, as well as other metrics like high scores and daily streaks on the platform. You can head here to gain access to LinkedIn’s game offerings.
Per The Verge, Here Is A Description of Each Game:
Pinpoint is a word association game. The game will unveil five different words, and your job is to guess the category the words fit into. The words will reveal themselves on a timer with the objective being to guess the category in as few words as possible.
Crossclimb combines trivia with clever wordplay. You’ll be given a clue for a word, and with that word as a starting point, you’ll create a ladder of words with each subsequent entry being just one letter off from the one before. Arranging the words in the correct order will reveal the clue to guess the locked entries on the ladder to win the game. It’s probably better to see it in action.
Finally, Queens is the most interesting game as it’s merely sudoku without numbers. Place queens on a grid such that no queens touch each other and there is a single queen in each row and column.
While many might be puzzled by LinkedIn’s decision to add games to its platform, this shouldn’t be shocking. The platform could be trying to keep old users on the site while attracting new ones.
LinkedIn Is Joining Other Companies
LinkedIn isn’t the first company to do this. The New York Times made the jump into the game space, with Axios reporting that its games were played over 8 billion times, with Wordle, which it acquired in 2022, accounting for more than half of those plays.
Users can pay a subscription fee to play the games or opt for the more expensive subscription, which gives them access to other New York Times content besides the games.
Netflix is also slowly building its video game library, allowing subscribers to play games like Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition or Hades.
LinkedIn will regularly offer games on its platform, with Lakshman Somasundaram, its product director, saying in a press release, “It’s time we turn over a new leaf in how we deepen and reignite relationships at work and put fun at the heart of it.”
We are intrigued to see how long this lasts.
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Source: Anadolu / Getty / TikTok
Congress hasn’t agreed on much lately, but one they seem to be locked in on is TikTok’s threat to national security, so it’s no surprise the bill that could potentially lead to its banning passed.
Congress passed the bill on Tuesday, April 23. It calls for a national ban on TikTok if its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, can’t find a buyer.
As promised, President Joe Biden signed the bill into law on Wednesday, April 24. This gives the company nine months with a three-month grace period to secure a deal for the platform.
The U.S. government has been wary of the app since the Trump administration because of potential national security concerns related to its Chinese ties.
Security experts and lawmakers have been raising the red flag about the popular app kids use to partake in viral dance choreography and share hilarious videos because they feel the Chinese government can use ByteDance to access the 170 million U.S. users’ private information or spread propaganda.
It Will Be An Uphill Battle To “Ban” TikTok
While many are reacting to the news with the inclination that the ban will go into effect immediately, the new law could take months, possibly years, to get TikTok up outta here.
Per The New York Times:
The law would allow TikTok to continue to operate in the United States if ByteDance sold it within 270 days, or about nine months, a time frame that the president could extend to a year.
The measure is likely to face legal challenges, as well as possible resistance from Beijing, which could block the sale or export of the technology. It’s also unclear who has the resources to buy TikTok, since it will carry a hefty price tag.
The issue could take months or even years to settle, during which the app would probably continue to function for U.S. consumers.
TikTok Vows To Fight The Ban
Of course, TikTok vows to fight. Chief executive Shou Chew said in a video, “Rest assured, we aren’t going anywhere. We are confident, and we will keep fighting for your rights in the courts.”
We shall see.
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Source: MICHAEL TRAN / Getty
It is clear celebrity does not shield you from bullying. Jelly Roll’s wife has confirmed he has quit Instagram due to fat-shaming.
As reported on TMZ, the popular country music talent has been noticeably absent from social media over the last couple of weeks. While high profile musicians are known to take breaks online, his better half has revealed his lack of posts has been intentional. Bunnie XO explained why Jelly Roll has taken a step back from social apps on her Dumb Blonde podcast. “My husband got off the internet because he is so tired of being bullied about his f***ing weight. And that makes me want to cry, because he is the sweetest angel baby,” she said. “My husband doesn’t show it to you guys, but I’m gonna have a very vulnerable moment here—it hurts him.”
She went on to point to the hypocrisy that comes along with fame and fortune. “The internet can say whatever the f*** they want about you, and they say, ‘Well, you’re a celebrity, you’re supposed to be able to handle it.’ No the f*** we’re not. … Enough is enough,” she explained. Bunnie also urged the public to be more sensitive to everyone’s feelings. “Don’t bully people, because you never know where they are mentally,” she added. “There are a lot of people who are not as strong as me, that are on the internet, and they don’t deserve to f***ing be bullied.”
In 2023, Jelly Roll won the New Artist of the Year at the CMA Awards. Earlier this year, he took home three awards at the CMT Music Awards. Prior to singing country music he was a rapper and released multiple projects under the same moniker. The couple wed back in 2016. You can see Bunnie XO discuss things below.
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Source: MARK PETERSON / Getty
A reporter caught Donald Trump dozing off during his Manhattan “hush money” trial again, and social media was quick to poke fun at him.Former president Donald Trump was back in the Manhattan Supreme Court on Tuesday (April 16) for the jury selection in his “hush money” trial involving adult film star Stormy Daniels. But the proceedings seemed to have a different toll on Trump, as a reporter in the courtroom observed him falling asleep. Frank G. Runyeon, who is covering the trial for the legal analysis website Law360, detailed the septuagenarian’s slumber in steps in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
“Trump’s head slowly dropped, his eyes closed. It jerked back upward,” Runyeon wrote. “He adjusts himself. Then, his head droops again. He straightens up, leaning back. His head [droops] for a third time, he shakes his shoulders. Eyes closed still. His head drops. Finally, he pops his eyes open.” Other reporters present in the courtroom also noticed Trump’s nodding off, which some noted lasted a minute or more.
The moment caught on like wildfire on social media, with the hashtag #SleepyDonald rising in the trending categories. Alina Habba, one of Trump’s lawyers and a frequent spokesperson, dismissed the idea as a “remarkable story at best,” before adding: “There were a tremendous amount of emotions being heard yesterday. I wasn’t there so I can’t comment on that. I find that to be a ridiculous thought though.” Trump himself has bragged that he doesn’t need a lot of sleep in the past. Maggie Haberman of the New York Times also pointed it out, also noting that he dozed off in court on Monday (April 15).
Trump’s sleepiness was still a hot topic on the court’s off day on Wednesday (April 17), with one expert stating to The Daily Beast that the significance of the trial as he is the presumptive Republican nominee for the 2024 presidential election is weighing on him. “Anyone that is on the campaign trail and fighting all these indictments against him might not be sleeping well,” said Dr. Chris Winter, a sleep expert and advisor to Mattress Firm.
We’ve collected some of the more colorful responses to Trump’s snoozing moment on social media below.
1. Ron Filipkowski
2. Jon Cooper
3. TruthHurts
4. Victoria Brownworth
5. Ron Waxman
6. Marc A Caputo
7. Santa Claus, CEO
8. Janey Vee
9. We The Sheeple
Lil Tay has ignited a feud with JoJo Siwa on X (formerly known as Twitter), in response to an alleged tweet liked by Siwa.
“.@itsjojosiwa You’re a scary ass bitch if you have something too (sic) say about me, say it & this time DON’T delete your comment or unlike shady tweets!” 16-year-old Lil Tay wrote. “Don’t let those paid YouTube views and botted Spotify streams get to your head Madonna from dollar tree a— b—-.”
.@itsjojosiwa You’re a scary ass bitch if you have something too say about me, say it & this time DON’T delete your comment or unlike shady tweets!Don’t let those paid YouTube views and botted Spotify streams get to your head Madonna from dollar tree ass bitch.— Lil Tay (@LilTaybepoppin) April 16, 2024
Tay’s tweet is a reaction to an alleged tweet in Siwa’s “likes” history calling the “Sucker 4 Green” star “pathetic” and a “meme,” adding that the two aren’t comparable. Siwa has yet to respond.
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Siwa is fresh off the release of her new single “Karma.” During an interview on SiriusXM’s Hits 1 Miami With Mack & Jen, Siwa clarified the comments she made in a viral video interview with Billboard, saying she simply wants to see more queer art get recognized. “So, here’s the thing — ‘gay pop’ is a thing that people have done, but it is not an official genre of music,” she explained. “It is a style, but it is how there’s rap, there’s rock, there’s R&B, there’s pop — if you look on the iTunes charts … this should be a literal genre of music.”
The 20-year-old originally spoke about the concept of “gay pop” during an interview with Billboard‘s Tetris Kelly about her new song “Karma,” when she claimed that she told her label (Columbia Records) that she “wanted to start a new genre … called ‘gay pop.’” Commenters quickly called out the singer for claiming to have created a “genre” that has existed for years.
Trending on Billboard
In a later interview with TMZ, Siwa clarified that she didn’t intend to say that she “invented” the concept of “gay pop” music. “I am not the inventor of gay pop, for sure not. But I do want to be a piece of making it bigger than it already is,” she said. “I’m not the president [of gay pop], but I might be the CEO, or the CMO. I can be the CMO, the chief marketing officer, and use my marketing tactics whether people like it or not.”
Elsewhere in her interview on SiriusXM, Siwa responded to the ongoing backlash to her comments. “I could say I want world peace, and everyone would be like, ‘How dare you want peace for the world!’” she said. “People ask me all the time, they’re like, ‘Do you feel like you have to be very careful about what you say?’ And I’m like, ‘No, because no matter what I say, it’s going down anyways.’”
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Source: NurPhoto / Getty / X
If you got a blue checkmark courtesy of X, Elon Musk wants the world to know so.
Spotted on The Verge, premium X users are finding out they can no longer hide their blue checkmarks and are sharing a notification they are receiving informing them of the new X, formerly Twitter policy.
Last summer, Elon Musk’s lame version of Twitter made showing your blue checkmark optional after X introduced a new subscription feature, giving subscribers the once highly coveted sign that they were part of an elite group.
It’s unclear why X is now doing it, but the timing comes after many celebrities and notable people who vowed to never pay for X to keep their blue checkmarks, now have them after X began “gifting” subscriptions to users with high numbers of verified users.
Those users who received their blue checkmarks began hiding them after announcing to their followers that they had not paid for them.
So this feels like Elon Musk being a douchebag and telling his team to make that move to spite those people who are spiting him and his company.
The social media formerly known as Twitter has been a hot mess since Elon Musk reluctantly purchased it. He changed the name and then rolled out the subscription platform, which was immediately abused by scammers who used to verify fake accounts and fool people.
Some people with blue checkmarks became the target of online harassment and mass blocking before giving users with more than a million followers blue checkmarks.
X is an ongoing mess, but we will stick beside it until the wheels fall off like everyone else.
Billie Eilish may have just pioneered an incredibly effective social media growth tactic with one simple move on Instagram.
According to CrowdTangle, the 22-year-old pop star gained 7 million new followers in just a two-day span. The spike comes after Eilish added all 100-million-plus followers to her “Close Friends” Story, where she’s been posting cryptic teasers for her upcoming third studio album this week.
The data tracking company found that, between Wednesday (April 3) and Thursday (April 4), 3.17 million people pressed “Follow” on the “What Was I Made For?” singer’s account in order to join her exclusive Story-viewing pool. Between Thursday and Friday (April 5), 3.9 million more users tagged along.
In total, Eilish saw a growth of 6.4% on the platform.
The posts the singer has been sharing on her Close Friends outlet have included fuzzy fragments of artwork, most of them awash in blue hues. The aesthetic of the pictures matches certain billboards that have popped up in New York and Los Angeles this week, displaying what many fans feel certain are lyrics from Eilish’s next LP.
Trending on Billboard
One of them, for instance, blasted in bright blue lettering, “She’s the headlights I’m the deer.” Others read, “I try to live in black and white,” and “Did I cross the line?”
The nine-time Grammy winner hasn’t dropped an album since 2021’s Happier Than Ever, which followed her 2019 debut When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? Both records spent three weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.
Ahead of her new era, Eilish spoke about her sustainability efforts in an interview with Billboard. After one of her quotes from the article about the wastefulness of releasing too many vinyl variants was misinterpreted by countless fans online, she took to Instagram Stories to clarify, “I wasn’t singling anyone out.”
“These are industry-wide systemic issues,” she added at the time. “when it comes to variants, so many artists release them – including ME! which i clearly state in the article.”
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Source: NurPhoto / Getty / X / Elon Musk
It looks like Elon Musk’s X is giving blue checks back to the platform’s most popular users, and they are like, thanks, but no thanks.
Overnight, Elon Musty’s X, formerly Twitter, “gifted” premium subscriptions to some users on X, mainly those who vowed never to pay for the subscription service that gave users the “blue check,” along with access to other premium features.
Musk confirmed in a post on his bootleg platform that this is the case, writing, “Going forward, all 𝕏 accounts with over 2500 verified subscriber followers will get Premium features for free, and accounts with over 5000 will get Premium+ for free.”
Those who have gotten their blue checkmarks back to their names are taking to the platform to let their followers know they are still ten toes down on their initial stance and did not give Bootleg Tony Stark any money to get back their checks.
Acadmey Award-nominated actor Jeffrey Wright was one of those users who expressed that sentiment, sharing a screenshot of a notification from X that he was getting his complimentary subscription to X Premium.
In the caption for the post, he wrote, “Pay $8? Kidding. Help me. But don’t say anything too free speechy about me or my Garbage Tower of Babel shitsite.”
Netflix’s Good Times star also spoke on the matter, writing, “What happened? I didn’t pay for this. I would NEVER pay for this. When did the Blue Check mark start getting passed around again?!
Actor Mark Hamill, aka our guy Luke Skywalker, responded to Brown’s post, “I didn’t pay when it went away, & really didn’t care. Then, out of nowhere, it mysteriously reappeared. #whatever.”
Well, the sentiment remains thanks, but no thanks.