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How Playboy cut ties with Hugh Hefner to create…

11 April 2023
by admin

Editor’s Note: The views expressed in this commentary are solely those of the writers. CNN is showcasing the work of The Conversation, a collaboration between journalists and academics to provide news analysis and commentary. The content is produced solely by The Conversation.

The Conversation
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Hugh Hefner launched Playboy Magazine 70 years ago this year. The first issue included a nude photograph of Marilyn Monroe, which he had purchased and published without her knowledge or consent.

Hefner went on to build the Playboy brand off the backs of the countless women featured in its pages, whose beauty and performance of heightened feminine sexuality have entertained its readers for generations.

Approaching its 70th anniversary in December, Playboy has radically shifted. With the magazine no longer in publication, the Playboy Mansion sold to a developer and London’s last remaining Playboy Club closing in 2021, what is the future for Playboy? The brand is changing to keep up with the post-#MeToo world.

Hefner passed away one month before allegations against film producer Harvey Weinstein surfaced in 2017 giving momentum to the #MeToo movement (which saw survivors of sexual assault and harassment speak out against their abusers).

In recent years, many have re-evaluated Hefner’s legacy and relationships with women. The 2022 docuseries “The Secrets of Playboy” (which aired on Channel 4 in the UK) detailed sexual misconduct accusations against Hefner from several ex-girlfriends, including model Sondra Theodore and TV personality Holly Madison.

Hefner and Playboy’s relationship with women has been complicated. Playboy was an early supporter of abortion rights, helped fund the first rape kit and was at times an early proponent of inclusivity (for example featuring transgender model, Caroline “Tula” Cossey, in its June 1981 issue). But most women featured in Playboy have fit within a narrow beauty standard — thin, white, able-bodied and blonde.

Meanwhile Hefner’s personal relationship with his much younger girlfriends reportedly followed patterns of control and emotional abuse. Ex-girlfriend Holly Madison described Hefner as treating her “like a glorified pet” in her 2015 memoir, “Down the Rabbit Hole.”

Hefner’s passing meant he evaded reckoning with the #MeToo movement. Playboy, however, responded, releasing a statement in which it affirmed support for the women featured in “The Secrets of Playboy” and called Hefner’s actions “abhorrent.”

The statement declared that the brand was no longer affiliated with the Hefner family and would be focusing on aspects of the company’s legacy that align with values of sex positivity and free expression.

Today, Playboy is a very different company from the one Hefner launched nearly 70 years ago. Roughly 80% of Playboy staff identify as women, according the company, and its motto has changed from “Entertainment for Men” to “Pleasure for All.” Shares in the company are publicly traded and 40% of its board and management are women.

The company has also moved towards more creator-led content through its app, Playboy Centerfold. Similar to subscription content service OnlyFans, Playboy Centerfold allows subscribers to view content from and interact with its creators, which it call “bunnies.”

On the app, creators — or bunnies — are able portray their own bodies however they wish, putting the power back in their hands. Perhaps Playboy’s future is no longer in serving the male gaze, but instead the very audience Hefner dismissed in his first letter from the editor:

“If you’re a man between the ages of 18 and 80 Playboy is meant for you … If you’re somebody’s sister, wife or mother-in-law and picked us up by mistake, please pass us along to the man in your life and get back to your Ladies Home Companion.”

The stars of Playboy’s mid-2000s reality series, Holly Madison and Bridget Marquardt, are also enjoying a resurgence among fans.

“The Girls Next Door” launched in 2004. The show focused on the lives of Hefner’s three girlfriends, Madison, Marquardt and Kendra Wilkinson. It became E’s best performing show and cultivated a new female audience for Playboy.

“The Girls Next Door” was a story of complicated empowerment despite patriarchal interference. Its three female protagonists went from being known solely as some of Hefner’s many blonde girlfriends, to celebrities in their own right.

They each ultimately broke up with Hefner, leaving the Mansion and going on to lead successful careers.

The show’s depiction of Madison, Marquardt and Wilkinson as empowered, fun-loving and complex individuals, who found joy and agency through expressing their sexuality was perhaps what drew so many female fans to the show. However, amid the girls’ fight for agency, Hefner retaliated.

The series shows that he maintained final say in every Playboy photograph of the girls, as well as imposing strict curfews and spending allowances.

In Madison and Wilkinson’s memoirs, “Down the Rabbit Hole,” and “Sliding into Home,” they claim that production consistently undermined them. They refused to pay them for the first season, didn’t credit them until season four and aired their uncensored nude bodies in foreign broadcasts and DVD releases without consent.

Fan interest in “The Girls Next Door” remains strong. In August 2022 Madison and Marquardt launched their podcast “Girls Next Level,” where they interview previous playmates and interact with fans. They also recap episodes from their own points of view, unpacking their experiences of working on the show.

Having reached 10 million downloads as of February 2023, the success of the podcast — 14 years after the last episode of “The Girls Next Door” — speaks to the cultural legacy of the Playboy brand. It also shows that despite Hefner’s original editor’s note, Playboy resonates with some women.

Playboy is now in a post-Hefner era, where the imagery of women found within old issues of Playboy can serve as inspiration for others to enjoy their own sexuality. Whatever the future has for the company, the concept of Playboy has become public property — be that in the appearance of Playboy bunny costumes each Halloween, the popularity of cheeky Playboy logo tattoos or branded lingerie and clothing.

In a post-#MeToo era, the women of Playboy are speaking up and taking over. With the mansion gates closed, the bunnies are finally reclaiming the brand as their own.

Top Image: Hugh Hefner with Playboy “bunnies” in London in 1966.

Science & Environment

Chelsea Handler, Leslie Jones and John Leguizamo among guest…

6 December 2022
by admin

CNN
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The end of an era is fast approaching at Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show,” and the network has announced at least the first phase of plans for what’s to come next.

Following longtime host Trevor Noah’s imminent departure, the network shared this week that comedy legends including Al Franken, Chelsea Handler, D. L. Hughley, Leslie Jones, John Leguizamo, Hasan Minhaj, Kal Penn, Sarah Silverman, Wanda Sykes and Marlon Wayans will fill in as host of the late-night show starting Tuesday, January 17th, as part of its “next chapter”.

Comedy Central added that “Daily Show” correspondents and contributors are also “set to host with additional details to be announced.”

“As we enter Trevor’s final week, we want to thank him for his many contributions,” said Chris McCarthy, president/CEO of Paramount Media Networks, according to the network statement.

Trevor redefined the show, as did Jon Stewart before him, and as we look to the future, we are excited to reimagine it yet again with the help of this incredible list of talent and correspondents along with the immensely talented ‘Daily Show’ team.”

Noah’s final show is set to air this Thursday. The network has yet to announced whether guest hosts will revolve indefinitely or if a permanent, individual host will be named soon.

“The Daily Show” airs weeknights at 11:00 p.m. ET/PT on Comedy Central and is available the following morning on Paramount+.

Science & Environment

Bong Joon Ho’s ‘Mickey 17’ gets trailer and release…

6 December 2022
by admin

A first look at “Parasite” director Bong Joon Ho’s new movie is here.

Science & Environment

Ashton Kutcher and twin Michael talk health, guilt and…

6 December 2022
by admin

CNN
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In a rare interview, twin brothers Ashton and Michael Kutcher talked about both their bond and their rift.

The pair appeared on the new Paramount+ series “The Checkup with Dr. David Agus.”

Agus, who is Ashton Kutcher’s doctor, first spoke with the actor about his battle with the autoimmune condition vasculitis.

Later he sat down with the brothers to talk about Michael Kutcher having cerebral palsy and also the moment he almost died as a youngster after contracting viral myocarditis that caused his heart to become enlarged and fail.

The brothers both got emotional about Michael’s heart stopping while Ashton was visiting him in the intensive care unit.

“I go in the room and I’m like ‘Whoa,’” Ashton Kutcher said, fighting back tears. “I’m like…’Everything is not ok.’ And he flatlines in the room and I know that noise cause now I’ve been visiting occasionally.”

He said he considered jumping off a balcony to help his brother since his heart would be a match. Michael Kutcher did receive a donor heart in 24 hours.

He later had to have open heart surgery after a blood clot was discovered. Meanwhile, Ashton Kutcher’s career as a model and actor started taking off and he said he felt guilt.

The “That 70s Show” star said he wondered, “How do I get to be this lucky?”

“For my brother…to be born with cerebral palsy, then have a heart transplant, then have this random blood clot, these things that you’re just like, ‘Who has to go through that?,’” he said.

Michael Kutcher eventually called him out, he said.

“He looked at me and he said, ‘Every time you feel sorry for me, you make me less,’” Ashton Kutcher said. “He said ‘This is the only life I’ve ever known, so stop feeling sorry for the only thing I have.’ And that then created an entire shift back to where I think we are today, which is straight up equals again.”

Michael Kutcher told Agus the brothers drifted apart because of jealousy on his part after his brother became “a household name.”

“There was a moment when I viewed him as receiving more attention than I was,” Michael Kutcher said. “That kind of drove me down to a place where I was jealous.”

The brothers talked it through, Michael Kutcher said, adding, “And once I took all of the fame and everything out of it, I was able to just, you know, come back to him.”

They also had an issue after the actor shared publicly that his brother had cerebral palsy, something Michael Kutcher had not shared. Ashton Kutcher said during the interview that he was not aware that his brother had been keeping it a secret.

Michael Kutcher is now an advocate for the disabled.

Science & Environment

John Travolta and Kirstie Alley: A love story |…

6 December 2022
by admin

CNN
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Kirstie Alley and John Travolta were never romantically involved, but that wasn’t how she initially wanted it.

Alley, who died Monday at the age of 71 after a brief illness, often talked of her feelings for Travolta, whom she called the “greatest love” of her life.

The pair starred together “Look Who’s Talking” film franchise (the first movie hit theaters in 1989). During an appearance in 2018 on “Celebrity Big Brother U.K.”, Alley talked about how easy it is to fall in love with leading men.

She named two co-stars she said she developed feelings for, but never fully consummated the attraction: Patrick Swayze and Travolta.

“I almost ran off and married John. I did love him, I still love him,” Alley said. “If I hadn’t been married I would’ve gone and married him and I would’ve been in an airplane because he has his [own plane.]”

The same year she appeared on the reality show, the “Cheers” star also talked about Travolta during a conversation on “The Dan Wootton Interview” podcast. She said not sleeping with the movie star was “the hardest decision I’ve ever made because I was madly in love with him.”

“We were fun and funny together,” she said. “It wasn’t a sexual relationship because I’m not going to cheat on my husband.”

Alley was married to actor Parker Stevenson at the time. The couple divorced in 1997.

In 2013, Alley told Howard Stern Travolta also had feelings for her, but didn’t act on them because of her marriage.

“It took me years to not look at John as a romantic interest,” she said.

Travolta married actress Kelly Preston in 1991. Alley told Wooten that Preston put her foot down about her flirting with her husband.

“Kelly came up to me and they were married then, and she said, ‘Why are you flirting with my husband?’” Alley said. “And that was sort of when I had to make a decision and that was pretty much the end of that.”

Travolta paid tribute to Alley on social media Monday.

“Kirstie was one of the most special relationships I’ve ever had,” he wrote in the caption on a post on his verified Instagram account. “I love you Kirstie. I know we will see each other again.”

Science & Environment

Kirstie Alley, ‘Cheers’ and ‘Veronica’s Closet’ star, dead at…

6 December 2022
by admin

CNN
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Actress Kirstie Alley, star of the big and small screens known for her Emmy-winning role on “Cheers” and films like “Look Who’s Talking,” has died after a brief battle with cancer, her children True and Lillie Parker announced on her social media.

She was 71.

“We are sad to inform you that our incredible, fierce and loving mother has passed away after a battle with cancer, only recently discovered,” the statement read.

“She was surrounded by her closest family and fought with great strength, leaving us with a certainty of her never-ending joy of living and whatever adventures lie ahead,” the family’s statement continued. “As iconic as she was on screen, she was an even more amazing mother and grandmother.”

“Our mother’s zest and passion for life, her children, grandchildren and her many animals, not to mention her eternal joy of creating, were unparalleled and leave us inspired to live life to the fullest just as she did,” the statement said.

Kirstie Alley’s sexy spin on ‘DWTS’

A representative for Alley confirmed to CNN via email on Tuesday that she had been diagnosed with colon cancer prior to her death.

A two-time Primetime Emmy Award winner, Alley was born in Wichita, Kansas in 1951.

After a standout role in 1982’s “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan,” she played roles in movies like 1984’s “Blind Date” and 1987’s “Summer School” opposite Mark Harmon.

That same year, Alley would follow Shelley Long to play the lead opposite Ted Danson in the latter part of TV classic sitcom “Cheers,” which premiered in 1982. Alley first appeared in 1987, playing strong and independent bar manager Rebecca Howe, staying on the acclaimed show until it ended in 1993.

After winning the Emmy for outstanding lead actress in a comedy series in 1991 for “Cheers” and another for lead actress in a miniseries or special for 1994’s “David’s Mother,” she again found TV success in the late ’90s with series “Veronica’s Closet,” which scored her another Emmy nod.

Kirstie Alley’s life in pictures

Additionally, Alley starred in a number of memorable films, like the “Look Who’s Talking” movies, 1990’s “Madhouse” and 1999’s “Drop Dead Gorgeous” with Ellen Barkin.

In 2005, Alley co-wrote and starred in the Showtime comedy “Fat Actress” before making a foray into reality TV.

She appeared in “Kirstie Alley’s Big Life” in 2010, was a contestant on Season 12 of ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” the next year and placed second on Season 22 of the British version of “Celebrity Big Brother” in 2018. In 2022, she competed in Season 7 of Fox’s “The Masked Singer.”

Though she had an impressive body of work, the later part of her career was marked by Alley’s penchant for stirring controversy, especially through social media.

In a 2007 interview, Alley said she was proud of her no holds barred ways.

“I’ve always felt like if someone asks me something, they want the real answer,” Alley told Good Housekeeping. “I think there’s also something about being from Kansas. Usually people think I’m from New York. The only similarity between New Yorkers and Midwesterners is that what you see is what you get.”

kirstie alley larry king live 2005 interview vpx

Kirstie Alley looks back on her ‘Cheers’ years (2005)

John Travolta, who costarred with Alley in 1989’s hit “Look Who’s Talking” as well as two sequels, wrote on Instagram on Monday, “Kirstie was one of the most special relationships I’ve ever had. I love you Kirstie. I know we will see each other again.”

Jamie Lee Curtis – who worked with Alley in 2016 on episodes of TV’s “Scream Queens” – shared a statement on Facebook to pay tribute to the late actress, writing, “She was a great comic foil in @tvscreamqueens and a beautiful mama bear in her very real life. She helped me buy onesies for my family that year for Christmas. We agreed to disagree about some things but had a mutual respect and connection. Sad news.”

Josh Gad tweeted, “My heart breaks for Kirstie and her family. Whether it was her brilliance in ‘Cheers; or her magnetic performance in the ‘Look Who’s Talking’ franchise, her smile was always infectious, her laugh was always contagious and her charisma was always iconic. RIP.”

Alley’s “Cheers” co-star Ted Danson told Deadline he had just watched Alley in an episode of the show while on a plane before learning of her death.

“I was on a plane today and did something I rarely do. I watched an old episode of ‘Cheers,’” Danson told the outlet. “It was the episode where Tom Berenger proposes to Kirstie, who keeps saying no, even though she desperately wants to say yes. Kirstie was truly brilliant in it. Her ability to play a woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown was both moving and hysterically funny.”

“She made me laugh 30 years ago when she shot that scene, and she made me laugh today just as hard. As I got off the plane, I heard that Kirstie had died. I am so sad and so grateful for all the times she made me laugh,” Danson added. “I send my love to her children. As they well know, their mother had a heart of gold. I will miss her.”

Another “Cheers” star, Rhea Perlman, told CNN in a statement that she and Alley became friends instantly on the set of “Cheers.”

“Kirstie was a unique and wonderful person and friend. Her joy of being was boundless,” Perlman said. “We became friends almost instantly when she joined the cast of Cheers. She loved kids and my kids loved her too. We had sleepovers at her house, with treasure hunts that she created. She had massive Halloween and Easter parties and invited the entire crew of the show and their families. She wanted everyone to feel included. She loved her children deeply. I’ve never met anyone remotely like her. I feel so thankful to have known her. I’m going to miss her very, very much.”

“Baywatch” actor Parker Stevenson, who was married to Alley from 1983 to 1997 and is the father of her two children, also paid tribute to her on social media. In an Instagram post, confirmed to be Stevenson’s by a representative for the actor, he wrote: “Kirstie, I am so grateful for our years together, and for the two incredibly beautiful children and now grandchildren that we have. You will be missed.”

Science & Environment

Adam Sandler still gets emotional singing sweet Chris Farley…

5 December 2022
by admin

CNN
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Adam Sandler will always Chris Farley.

More than twenty years after Farley’s death, Sandler still gets sad when he sings the “Chris Farley Song,” a song he wrote for his late friend and comedian, who died in December 1997 of a drug overdose at age 33.

Sandler told the “Happy Sad Confused” podcast that his musical tribute still makes him emotional. He performed the song as part of his Netflix special “Adam Sandler: 100% Fresh” and sang it on “SNL” when he hosted in May 2019.

“The first few times, we played that song, I would tear up and I couldn’t really sing it well because I’d get so emotional, and then I felt it and was able to get it out there,” Sandler said on the podcast. “It’s weird, but when that song starts, I go, ‘Oh f–k, alright, don’t cry and don’t do that’ still. I’ve sang it maybe a hundred times already, but it rocks me.”

Sandler added, “I think it’s because we show a video of Chris and I see his face.” He also said “hearing the crowd go nuts for Farley” makes him happy.

“Every show I do, by far the biggest applause of the night is talking about Farley and any time I mention his name, the audience goes nuts. It feels great,” he said.

Science & Environment

Axl Rose will stop tossing mic after a fan…

5 December 2022
by admin

CNN
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Axl Rose is ending a 30-year Guns N’ Roses tradition.

The band’s frontman recently posted a note saying on social media that he would no longer be tossing his microphone into the crowd during their concerts after it came to his attention that a fan may have been hurt at their recent show in Adelaide, Australia.

“If true, obviously we don’t want anyone getting hurt or to somehow in any way hurt anyone at any of [our] shows anyway,” Rose wrote in a note he tweeted. “Having tossed the mic at the end of [our] show for over 30 years we always felt it was a known part of the very end of [our] performance that fans wanted and were aware of to have an opportunity to catch the mic.”

He thanked the band’s supporters for understanding.

“Unfortunately there [are] those that for their own reasons chose to frame their reporting regarding this subject in a more negative n’ irresponsible out of nowhere light which couldn’t [be] farther from reality,” Rose said. “We hope the public and of course [our] fans get that sometimes happens.”

Science & Environment

‘Harry & Meghan’ series gets release date and new…

5 December 2022
by admin

CNN
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The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have an early Christmas gift for their supporters.

A new trailer for their Netflix docuseries, “Harry & Meghan,” was released Monday, along with a schedule for when the episodes will stream.

Volume I will include episodes 1-3 and will stream on December 8, and Volume II with episodes 4-6 will be out December 15.

In the latest trailer, the couple appear to be offering more insight into how life was for them being a part of the royal family.

“There’s a hierarchy in the family,” Prince Harry says. “You know, there’s leaking, but there’s also planting of stories.”

He ends the trailer by saying, “No one knows the full truth. We know the full truth.”

The docuseries is directed by Liz Garbus.

Science & Environment

George Clooney has a simple strategy for being a…

4 December 2022
by admin

CNN
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George Clooney has a surefire way for staying out of trouble as a public figure in the age of social media: stay off of it.

In a profile for the Washington Post published on Friday, the Oscar-winning actor said he manages to avoid too much exposure to today’s 24/7 media cycle by not engaging on those platforms, which he acknowledges would be problematic “if I have three drinks at night.”

He also shared, “I don’t think you can be a star and be that available.”

It was part of a larger conversation in which Clooney identified how certain movie stars that came before him like Gregory Peck and Paul Newman – both of whom were friends of his before they died – exemplified how to carry oneself in the spotlight.

“It doesn’t mean you can’t be goofy and do stupid things, but it means stand up for the things you believe in, carry yourself with a little bit of dignity,” the “Ticket to Paradise” star said. “And both of them had great humor about themselves.”

Clooney, who is being honored at the Kennedy Center this month alongside Gladys Knight and U2, among others, is active in humanitarian efforts in addition to his pursuits as an actor, producer and director.

Ethan Hawke, who directed Clooney in a voice role as Newman in this year’s HBO documentary “The Last Movie Stars,” observed that it’s no surprise he’s getting such a prestigious honor. (CNN and HBO Max are both part of the same parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery.)

“It’s interesting that he’s getting the Kennedy Center Honors this year because Newman got it too. They fit in a long line of really responsible artists, people who make a contribution to American culture and are civic leaders,” Hawke told the Post. “Whether you like George’s politics, or admire where he gives his money and time, you have to admire his willingness to lead, and his willingness to care.”

Steven Soderbergh, whose 1998 masterpiece “Out of Sight” starred Clooney opposite Jennifer Lopez, said the actor is unique for not caring that his politics might compromise the reach of his stardom.

“The default mode really doesn’t lead you to a place of thinking about fairness, or defending people who can’t defend themselves. It’s great when people use that juice for those purposes, but that’s not the way the stream flows,” Soderbergh said of Clooney’s efforts through his Clooney Foundation for Justice alongside wife Amal, a human rights attorney.

“The stream flows in the direction of self-orientation and being in a mode of extracting whatever you can from this business, and whatever you can from the world at large. … He’s one of the few people who punches upward. That’s rare.”

Clooney will be featured as part of the Kennedy Center Honors on December 28 at 8 p.m. on CBS.