Sassy. Gay. Republican ... Hypocrite.

For some reason, about a year ago, 21-year-old Alex Newman Mesa decided to switch political parties; he even went so far as to create a new Twit-name for himself: Sassy Gay Republican.

And then he began sharing his thoughts, er, thought, on Twitter, mostly the one he had criticizing the Affordable Care Act mandate that everyone have health insurance:

 “I'm conservative because if democrats can force us all to pay for health insurance, what else will they force us to pay for?”

And because he’s such a rightwingnut, and gay, to boot, some of his posts have gone viral; but on September 12 he posted something that went viral in ways he didn’t expect.

Sassy Gay Republican Alex Newman posted that he was in a serious crash while working as a pizza-delivery driver and went to the hospital:

"The hospital they sent me to didn't take my insurance, so now I'm having second thoughts about not having free healthcare cause this is bad."

Oops. Wasn’t it just a few months earlier Alex blasted the idea of the ACA and now he’s lamenting it? And so what does a hypocrite do: he created a GoFundMe page and begged people to help him pay his bills.

But then a few days later, he Tweeted that Worker’s Compensation would cover his hospital visit but that his car insurance would not be covering the collision:

"Guys (please) pray for me during this rough time. Really didn't plan on insurance bailing on me. I'll see what God wants me to do."

Oh, the hypocrisy; a Republican, and an ACA opponent whining about his insurance coverage and asking for donations, and then asking for donations to buy himself a new car; oh, but he did.

And because he’s such a polarizing figure and hypocrite, Twitter came for Alex Newman accusing him of making up the accident, using old photos that weren't his, and being a fraud. 

Newman said he received death threats, including comments from people telling him to kill himself or saying they hope that he can "never walk again."

Now, that’s not nice but let’s look into this horrific crash ...

The Arizona Department of Public Safety [DPS] confirmed there was a crash involving three vehicles at Loop 202 and milepost 25 on September 12, but would not confirm who was involved. 

Newman says he was entering Loop 202 and was distracted by a nearby car on fire when he slammed into the vehicle in front of him at 65 mph. 

DPS reports that no one in the crash was taken to a hospital, and now Alex Newman says he decided to go to the hospital later that day after developing pain in his lower back. Newman has proof his car was towed, he has proof he was ticketed for speeding, and proof he got pain meds the night of the accident.

But still, it must have been a horrible accident because he was scarcely able to get out of his car and photographing the vehicle and then Tweet about it before going home:

And then, later that night, Tweeting about how he was lucky to be alive after an accident he very clearly walked away from:

And he now says that—because he has insurance through his parents—his Tweets about insurance were for his car, and that he’ll use the GoFundMe money to buy himself a new vehicle:

"I did just use the donation money to buy myself another car so I can get working again," he said.

Wait. The Tweets were about car insurance? Then do tell Alex, why the first Tweet awas about the hospital not taking your insurance ... unless you were trying to use your car insurance?

Newman raised about $3,000 online from 125 people, some of whom donated just so they could comment:

"We're just trying to point out the irony of your life choices, but we're still giving you money — money that you need because you don't understand how insurance works."—This man gave $5

Newman says he created the fundraiser to cover potential medical costs, though, since he is improving, he isn't expecting to need physical therapy:

"I feel like if I ask from the government, I feel like I’m stealing in a sense because when it comes to the government, people are being forced to pay into things they might not agree with or want to do.”

And so he used the internet to beg from strangers. Oh, and it’s not the first time Alex Newman used a money beg for help; he also created a GoFundMe page a few years back to help him go to rehab.

Alex Newman doesn’t believe in the ACA, especially when he can stay off Obamacare and use MamaAndPapacare or beg for coins from strangers.

AZ Central

My Two Cents ... on Colin Kaepernick, the Bigot-In-Chief, Taking A Knee, and The National Anthem

Is the president a racist? I don’t know, though I’m beginning to believe that if it looks like a duck and walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, we oughta just slip a white sheet over its head and call it a racist.

I mean, this is the man who called brown-skinned people from Mexico drug dealers, rapists and murderers.

This is the man who called brown skinned people from the Middle East terrorists and tried to ban them from coming to this country.

And, yes, this is the same man who watched a group of white supremacists and neo-Nazis and Klan members march though Charlottesville, Virginia, and said some of the are nice people.

But, this week, a brown skinned man, an African American man, a professional athlete who is using his position to protest racial inequality in this country by taking a knee during the National Anthem is a “son of a bitch” who should be fired.

I don’t know about you, but I’m sensing a theme here: white people are good, while brown people are drug dealing, terroristic, sons-of-bitches ... at least according to the Bigot-In-Chief.

Now, to be fair, _____ did make these latest asinine remarks about Colin Kaepernick’s First Amendment right to Free Speech and protest, in Alabama, where, for the most part, people of color are still “those” people, so he was clearly pandering to his audience. But I’m here to tell you that, as a white man, and I am really really white, I would rather take a knee with Kaepernick than stand alongside a president who is trying to divide this country into us—white—and them—everyone else.

And it all began so innocently; _____ was supposed to be campaigning in Alabama for Senator Luther Strange and, as he does, he drifted off-topic to ask his crowd, his base, his Deplorables, if they’d “love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, ‘Get that son of a bitch off the field right now, he’s fired’?”

Fired, for taking a stand in this country? That’s the America that _____ wants to go back to, the so-called ‘Great’ America; where people cannot speak out against injustice, racial inequality, lest a man who is oh so patriotic he avoided the draft five times because his feet hurt, a man who is so patriotic he’s never lifted a finger to help anyone at any time, anywhere ever in this country, unless it served him first.

That’s our Bigot-In-Chief, but, luckily, as we saw yesterday, a majority of athletes all across this country took a knee with Kaepernick instead of standing alongside a man who decries Free Speech unless it comes from a Nazi.

 But what is it about the national anthem? I mean, why can’ Colin Kaepernick just carry a protest sign, or work with the Black Lives Matter Movement, start a charity to raise awareness, offer to work with the African American community and the police departments ... all of which he has done; but why the National Anthem ...

Perhaps it’s because Colin Kaepernick if one of the few people that know all the lyrics to “The Star-Spangled Banner.” For most of us, the song is a couple of lines about rockets and flags and being proud:

Oh say can you see,

By the dawn's early light,

What so proudly we hailed,

At the twilight's last gleaming?

Whose broad stripes and bright stars,

Through the perilous fight,

O'er the ramparts we watched,

Were so gallantly streaming.

And thy rocket's red glare,

Thy bombs bursting in air,

Gave proof through the night,

That our flag was still there.

Oh say does that star spangled banner yet wave,

O'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave.

The story, as I remember it, was that the song writer, Francis Scott Key, was a prisoner on a British ship during the War of 1812 and wrote this poem while watching the American troops battle back the invading British in Baltimore. That, however, is not quite the whole story ...

Francis Scott Key was an aristocrat, city prosecutor in Washington, D.C., a slave-owner and an anti-abolitionist; he believes that blacks were mentally inferior, and so their masters should treat them with more Christian kindness. And, should slavery end, he didn’t want the free blacks to stay here, in his country; he wanted them to go home, to Africa.

And, since he didn’t think highly of black men, he was clearly unnerved at the idea of the Colonial Marines, a battalion of runaway slaves who fought with the British Royal Army in exchange for their freedom. These black men were not only a terrifying example of what slaves would do if allowed to fight for their freedom, but also an affront to the white superiority theory that men like Francis Scott Key believed in.

All of this came to a boiling point at the Battle of Bladensburg, where Key was serving as a lieutenant when he came upon a battalion of Colonial Marines. His troops were overtaken by the very black folks Key loathed, and he ran home in Georgetown to avoid capture. But those black troops, along with the British forces, marched into Washington, D.C., burning the Library of Congress, the Capitol Building and the White House, all of which was much too much for Francis Scott Key.

And so how do we get to Francis Scott Key as a prisoner on a boat in Baltimore where he wrote that poem? Well, we don’t, really; in fact, far from being a captive, Francis Scott Key willingly went aboard a British ship to beg for the release of his friend, William Beanes. And Key was on that ship watching the bloody battle of Fort McHenry—a battle that American forces lost, though they managed to inflict heavy casualties on the British—when the idea struck him for what would become “The Star-Spangled Banner”.

Rockets red glare; bombs bursting in air; the flag was still there. It’s all so anthemic and pride-inducing, except most of us don’t know that Key wrote a full third stanza denouncing those former slaves who fought with the British army:

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore,

That the havoc of war and the battle’s confusion

A home and a Country should leave us no more?

Their blood has wash’d out their foul footstep’s pollution.

No refuge could save the hireling and slave

From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave,

And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave

O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

In other words, Key hoped that the blood of those former slaves, those “hirelings”, would wash away the pollution of the British invaders; he wanted those black men dead. And yet we stand for his words? Well, at least since 1931, when “The Star Spangled Banner” was officially designated the national anthem; and ever since then, from time to time, people in this country have debated the suitability of its lyrics, from its militaristic tone, to its apparent joy at the death of slaves.

What about a change? I mean, it’s been the anthem less than a hundred years; why not a switch to “God Bless America" and "America the Beautiful". At least those songs don’t celebrate battle and the murder of freed slaves.

Yet here we are, still asking people to stand for that song because we’ve forgotten, or never knew, or simply ignored, the meaning behind the lyrics and the temperament and feelings of the man who wrote it. And yet here we are, asking Colin Kaepernick, or any person of color, or any person who decries any form of racism, to stand for that?

Colin Kaepernick made his decision, during the 2016 NFL pre-season, to kneel, in part, because of a slew of police-involved shooting deaths of black men, including Philando Castile and Alton Sterling:

"I am not looking for approval. I have to stand up for people that are oppressed."

To stand up for people who are oppressed, and who can no longer stand up for themselves ... and yet we have a president who denounces that stance, who calls Kaepernick a “son of a bitch,” but said nothing, nothing, about a white supremacist who ran down Heather Heyer with his car in Charlottesville this summer.

Kaepernick, however, isn’t the only one to protest; other black NFL stars, like Oakland Raiders running back Marshawn Lynch and Philadelphia Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins, are also taking a knee, or sitting down, or raising a fist, when the anthem plays.

And it isn’t just the black players; Jenkins' teammate, Chris Long, who is white, put his arm around Jenkins in solidarity when Jenkins raised his fist before a preseason game last month. Long, who is vocal about his political views, played college ball in Charlottesville, at the University of Virginia:

"I think it's a good time for people who look like me to be here for people fighting for equality."

And there has been a fight for equality since forever, for all kinds of people, black, female, gay, lesbian, Muslim; why not have a song that doesn’t denounce any one group, or sing praises upon the death of that one group? Think about the black athlete who put it like this:

"I cannot stand and sing the anthem. I cannot salute the flag. I know that I am a black man in a white world."

No, that’s not Colin Kaepernick in 2016; that was Jackie Robinson, beloved baseball pioneer and civil rights activist, who wrote those words in his 1972 autobiography, "I Never had It Made."

Kaepernick simply took Robinson’s words and put them into action, by sitting during the pre-game anthem and saying he would not stand "to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color."

Yet he’s a son of a bitch; he’s called un-American, and worse; he’s been told he is disrespecting our military men and women—though those men and women have actually fought for the very rights that Kaepernick is using, Freedom of Speech.

And yesterday, on CNN, one of _____’s henchmen, Steve Mnuchin, said Kaepernick, and any others who would not stand, are also disrespecting first responders; but when did the anthem start applying to first responders and members of the military and not to all of us, no matter our skin color?

There is no disrespect, unless it’s disrespectful to stand for a song that celebrates slavery, and glories in the death of slaves.

Colin Kaepernick is not alone; more and more athletes are following suit, and more and more people are talking about the issues he’s brought forth—which is a good thing; his stance even caught the eye of former NASA astronaut, and former NFL player, Leland Melvin, who released this statement after hearing _____ speak in Alabama the other night:

“To Donald _____

I believe in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of this country even though at the time they were drafted, their tenets of life, liberty justice for all and eventual freedom of speech, religion, assembly, press and petition amendment ratified in Dec 1791, only applied to a select group of people and not ones that looked like me.Donald Trump, I listened to your Alabama rally rant and could not believe how easily you say what you say.

We have become numb to your outlandish acts, tweets and recent retweet of you knocking down Hillary Clinton with a golf ball that you hit.

Donald Trump, your boorish and disgusting actions are not funny. They actually promote violence against women especially when your followers act out what you say.

I used to walk the grounds of UVA in Charlottesville, VA as a graduate student only to watch in horror as those same grounds became a battlefield being trod by Nazi and anti-Semitic worshippers armed with assault style weapons ready to fight to make America White again. (their words). You actually said there were nice people on both sides. People armed and ready to kill other Americans for the purpose of eradicating Blacks, Jews, Hispanics, Mexicans, Asians, Latinas and even the first real Americans, Native Americans to make America Great Again were “nice people”?

Comparing this to what you say in condemnation of an unarmed black man peacefully protesting by exercising his constitutional First Amendment rights by silently taking a knee is appalling, unnerving and reprehensible.

Today, you called Colin Kaepernick “a son-of-a-bitch.”

You said he should be fired.

You are calling his white mother a bitch.

The strong contrast in language for a black man and a Nazi is very telling. Do you have any sense of decency or shame in what you say to the American people that are part of your duty to serve respectfully with dignity, presidentially?

Our National Anthem has been edited to try not to offend, because when Francis Scott Key penned the song he watched freed slaves fighting for the British and wrote this stanza:

“And where is that band who so vauntingly swore,

That the havoc of war and the battle’s confusion

A home and a Country should leave us no more?

Their blood has wash’d out their foul footstep’s pollution.

No refuge could save the hireling and slave

From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave,

And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave

O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.”

I guess if I were a slave back then I probably would have done anything to obtain freedom from my American oppressors who were whipping, killing, raping, dismembering, hanging or releasing the dogs on people like me all under our Constitution.

In 1814 former slaves fought with the British for their freedom from their American enslavers.

Key witnessed a battle from a ship off the Maryland shore at Fort McHenry, which inspired him to write what became our National Anthem.

I served my country not in the military, but as 1 of 362 American Astronauts that have explored the universe to help advance our civilization. Not just Americans, but all humans. I also was briefly in the NFL and stood for the National Anthem with my hand over my heart. What makes us great is our differences and respecting that we are all created equally even if not always treated that way.

Looking back at our planet from space really helps one get a bigger perspective on how petty and divisive we can be. Donald Trump, maybe you should ask your good friend Mr. Putin to give you a ride on a Soyuz rocket to our International Space Station and see what it’s like to work together with people we used to fight against, where your life depends on it. See the world and get a greater sense of what it means to be part of the human race, we call it the Orbital Perspective.

Donald Trump, please know that you are supposed to be a unifier and a compassionate and empathetic leader. If you can’t do the job then please step down and let someone else try. I pray that you do the right thing.

May God bless you.

Sincerely,

Leland Melvin

Former Astronaut and NFL Player”

Well said, sir, though, as we have seen since his campaign began, and since he took office, this particular president doesn’t listen to We The People ... he’s too busy riling up his base.

So, let’s let Colin Kaepernick’s mother have the last word. And though she started off with a bit of a laugh when _____ first went off, she came back strong. See, when she first heard the President of the United States call her son a “son of a bitch,” Teresa Kaepernick Tweeted:

And that spoke volumes, though Teresa Kaepernick wasn’t done:

“You know, I always say to my husband ... we don’t get too upset over most of this stuff anymore. He and I will look at each other and say, “We do lead an interesting life, I guess.” I mean, how else are you gonna look at it? I can’t be losing sleep over this kind of stuff. It’s disappointing that Trump is the president and talks the way he talks, though. It’s just incredibly disappointing. Rick and I had never been real political people, but prior to when all of the campaigning was going on, I mean, it didn’t take more than a minute to realize we didn’t want Donald Trump in the presidency. The guy is not all there, and I can’t tell you how shocked we were when he won, but we have been pretty vocal about it since long before Colin took a knee. So, we have some pretty strong feelings about that part of things. To see this man that you have no respect for, basically because of all that he’s done in this presidency so far, slandering my kid publicly ...

We didn’t watch his rally, I don’t watch rallies. He’s not playing to me anyway. But I saw on Twitter that he’d said it and I said to my husband, “What the heck,” and I looked to see what was said and I thought, “Aw man, this is just ridiculous that he continues to attack private citizens like this and continues to not be able to see what freedom of speech is and that he just refuses to acknowledge those kind of things.” Yet at the same time, in Charlottesville, he would not call out the Nazis, not call out the white supremacists, but he’s calling out these guys who are peacefully kneeling and asking for their country to do better.”

All Colin Kaepernick, and others, are asking is for us, as a country, as a people, as a world, as a president, to try and do better. Is that really so awful?

Don’t bother, that’s a rhetorical question; I’ll just go back to something I said earlier:

I’d rather take a knee with Colin Kaepernick than stand alongside this president.

Any day of the week.

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It's Snarkurday!

Ever since Leah Remini left Scientology in 2013, she has no more f**ks to give for that Cult, and she calls the cultists out at every opportunity.

Case in Point #1: when Leah’s show, Scientology and the Aftermath, recently won an Emmy and when she took the stage to accept, silent Scientologist Elizabeth Moss left the room. And Leah explained that since she’s escaped the cult, and was now a suppressive person, cultists cannot have anything to do with her. And so, when the press jumped on the Is-Lizzie-Moss-a-Scientologist bandwagon, she had to admit that, yes, she is, but doesn’t feel the need to share her, um, faith, in any other way than walking out of a room when a suppressive person is honored.

Case in Point #2: Leah outed Jada Pinkett-Smith, the Kelly Preston to Will Smith’s John Travolta, as a Scientologist:

“I know Jada’s in. I know Jada’s in. She’s been in Scientology a long time. I never saw Will there, but I saw Jada at the Celebrity Centre. [Will and Jada] opened up a Scientology school, and have since closed it. But Jada, I had seen her at the Scientology Celebrity Centre all the time.”

Will and Jada did open a school—which has since closed—but never acknowledged that Dianetics was one of the actual textbooks used there even though it was. And then Leah shared the story of the time that Tiny Tom Cruise made her, Will and Jada, and other guests play Hide-n-Seek in his mansion. Tom even made Leah be ‘it’ when she declined to play.

Leah also says Jada lied to Andy Cohen when he asked about that game:

“She was on Bravo’s Watch What Happens Live a few weeks ago promoting her film [Girls Trip], and Andy said to her, ‘Have you read Leah Remini’s book?’ and he was like, ‘What was that whole thing about playing tag?’ and she said, ‘Oh, she lied.’ He goes, ‘Isn’t that weird, to play tag?’ and she goes, ‘No, the kids were there.’ That was untrue. Bullshit. There were no kids there. I was like, okay, alright, you’re gonna do that? More power to ya.”

Like I said, Leah Remini has no f**ks left to give when it comes to that cult and she’ll even come for Jada Kelly Preston Pinkett-Smith.

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Last year Justin Bieber posted a picture on him alongside Marilyn Manson with the caption:

“Night out with the boys.”

Well, maybe not so much, because Marilyn isn’t feeling the ALLEGED bromance and now that he’s out promoting his new music, Manson gave several interviews where he outed Bieber as a Little Brat:

“I ran into him in some fancy bar where a lot of celebrities—a word that I despise—go. I saw a little girl in a pink hoodie with blond hair, and it turns out to be Bieber. I sit down, and I say, ‘Hey, so you wore my shirt and everything onstage.’ He was one of those touchy people that hit you when they talk, and he comes up to about dick height. Then he goes, ‘I made you relevant again.'”

Well Marilyn was not happy about the ‘made you relevant again’ business, and the t-shirt thing—the front had Manson’s picture on it, but the back said “BIEBER”—that Biebs was hawking for $195 a pop, and he threatened to sue until Justin’s team told him that he could have all the proceeds from the shirt. Manson then explained that he wouldn’t have taken the money if Justin hadn’t acted like such a little brat”:

“He was a real piece of shit in the way he had the arrogance to say that.”

And so what do child-like rock stars do when they are dissed by child-like pop stars? Exact a little child-like revenge:

“The next day I told him I’d be at his soundcheck at Staples Center to do Beautiful People.”

And then he never showed up. Seriously? I mean, I like Manson calling Bieber out on his bratitude, but this I’m’a-be-there-now-I’m-not stuff is stupid.

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Martha Stewart is continuing her passive aggressive feud with Gwyneth Paltrow and she’s channeling Mariah Carey to do it.

Y’all remember, years back, when Mimi was asked about JLo and she responded with “I don’t know her,” right? Well, Martha was on Watch What Happens recently and when a caller asked:

“Are the rumors true that you are happy that Goop is having deceptive health issue claims?”

And Martha replied:

“Who’s Goop?”

And you just know it sent Gwyneth’s minions searching for a passive aggressive way to get back at Martha, like the time Martha dogged Gwyneth about the “conscious uncoupling” and the kids at Goop posted a recipe for “jailbird cake.”

Children. Play nice.

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Jada Pinkett-Smith does not like that Leah Remini called her a Scientologist and instead of simply denying it, or saying nothing, Jada pulled a _____-like Tweet-storm at 3AM to clear the air; it went like this:

“I recently lit Shabbat candles with Rabbi Bentley at Temple Sinai... but I am not Jewish.”

And this:

“I have prayed in mosques all over the world... but I am not a Muslim.”

And this:

“I have read the Bhagavad Gita... but I am not a Hindu.”

And this:

“I have chanted and meditated in some of the most magnificent temples on earth… but I am not a Buddhist.”

And this:

“I have studied Dianetics, and appreciate the merits of Study Tech… but I am not a Scientologist.”

And this:

“I practice human kindness, and I believe that we each have the right to determine what we are and what we are not.”

And this:

“NO ONE ELSE can hold that power.”

Methinks the Scientologist doth protest too much.

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Feud Alert:

Jeffrey Mezger, the CEO and chairman of KB Home, was caught on tape hurling homophobic slurs and profanities at his neighbor, Randy Bick, and his girlfriend, Kathy Griffin, so you just know it became a thang!!

Jeffrey was caught on security cameras saying:

“Hey Randy, go f**k yourself. You’re stuck with a f**king bald dyke who Donald _____ kind of put the heat on. F**k you and f**k Kathy. You’re not our f**king neighbor, you’re a f**king asshole.”

The rant was over noise; noise! It seems Mezger’s grandchildren had been swimming in the pool at his home when the police showed up on his doorstep to register a noise complaint; Mezger instantly went after Bick and, by association, Griffin.

“Seriously? You call on my grandkids at 9 o’clock? You’re not even the f**king owner! Let’s declare war, asshole, ’cause we got a lot to go for. Let’s bring it on, you bitch.”

Bick says he made the noise complaint after enduring hours of excessive party noise coming from Mezger’s yard. He admitted to hearing kids, but said there were adults who were being loud as well. And, while speaking to officers, Bick said his security cameras caught the audio of Mezger’s profanity-laden tirade and you can hear Kathy in the background, while taking notes so she can pout this latest feud into her act:

“Randy, what’s happening?”

And Mezger yells back:

“If you’re asking Randy what’s happening, he called the cops on my 5-year-old granddaughter, you f**king c**t! Bullsh*t—9 o’clock at night—oh, this party’s loud, this party’s really happening. F**k you. I’ve done enough trying to be a nice partner—f**k you, neighbor. War’s happening. Don’t wait until we’re gonna bring some things on you. Now f**k you.”

Mezger, who was once named “most admired homebuilder” by Fortune magazine, has been the CEO of KB Home since 2006.

I may be wrong, but I think the KB in KB Home might stand for Kill [a] Bitch?

And so, naturally, when the tape went viral, Mezger had his team release the non-apology, this is not me, statement:

“Mr. Mezger regrets losing his temper over a supposed noise complaint involving his three young grandchildren in his swimming pool around 8 p.m. on Saturday, while they were being supervised by their mother and grandmother. He apologizes for the language he used, as it does not reflect who he is or what he believes.”

Mad this may not end, because this was started about a year ago, right when Griffin and Bick moved in to Mezger’s gated community.

Homeowners association logs show a long history of noise complaints filed by Bick—at least five—with some being filed almost immediately after the couple arrived. Mezger denies ever throwing loud parties and says if there is noise, it’s coming from children ... as if that makes it any less noisy?

No, it does not, but I guess rather than walking across the lawn and politely asking people to keep it down, Bick and Griffin call the law, and Kill [a] Bitch goes apesh*t.

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It’s well-known that Barbra Streisand only wants to be filmed or photographed from her “good side” ... and that includes when she appears at a charity event.

The diva joined other celebrities—Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, Justin Timberlake, Kerry Washington and Diddy—at the “Hand in Hand” relief benefit in LA last week, but made sure photographers shot her best side ... her left side.

In fact, Babs actually walked the red carpet backwards—heading toward the door and not the event site—just so she’d only have her left side available for pictures.

Streisand is famous for insisting on being shot from the left; she even swapped seats with Fallon as a guest on his “Tonight Show” and did the same when she appeared on Oprah years back. On Oprah she even wanted to have a microphone that matched the color of her outfit.

Whatever diva wants ...

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I love Kelly Clarkson, and not just because she has a fabulous voice and can sing just about anything, but because she has a back bone.

Kelly was one of the first celebrities to come out and support Kesha in her ALLEGATIONS of sexual misconduct and bullying by music producer Dr. Luke. But Kelly wasn’t just talking; she’d had her own experiences working with him, though she wasn’t sexually harassed, but says he was “difficult to work with” and “kind of demeaning.” 

In fact, Kelly was so disgusted at being forced by her record label, RCA, to work with Luke that she refused a song writing credit for My Life Would Suck Without You because she didn’t want her name next to his.

Doesn’t sound like much, really, until you realize that by removing her name from the song, she removed herself from any royalties the song would ever produce ... a number that could be in the millions:

“I was making a point to the people working with me, going, ‘This is how much I didn’t want to do this.’ I don’t care about the money. I don’t care about, oh, ‘You’re going to be the most famous person ever if you do this.’ That’s not what holds weight in my life.”

Clarkson ALLEGES that RCA vowed not to release her album if she did not work with Dr. Luke:

“Basically, they were gonna sit on my record unless I did what they wanted. I was so frustrated because I literally said, ‘Anyone in the world but this one person. I will work with anyone you want to put in my path.’ ... It was just this one thing, and I asked not to work with Dr. Luke just because I had not a good experience with him ... You have to really be a special kind of … for me not to like you.”

And so she did it, under force, but when the time came to add her name to the tune, she said:

“I don’t want my name near his. I want to pretend this didn’t happen in my life and I want to forget it.’”

Good for her.

PS Another reason to love Kelly ... over the 4th of July holiday this past summer, she sent out a Tweet in support of our overseas troops and someone responded with this:

"You're fat."

Kelly instantly replied:

"And yet ... still f**king awesome!"

Loved that one!

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PR 16 Ep 6: Model Clients ... Not So Model Designers

Model’s have a hard life. No, really; they have to watch what they eat and stay in shape so they can work. And now that models—thanks to social media—are also celebrities, they must also be aware of how they present themselves to world each day.

And, designing for a model has to be tough, too, since they know what works on their body, what they like and dislike.

All that will make this a tough week, maybe? See, this week not only are the designers creating looks for the model to wear, the model is also the client, and so she needs to be satisfied as well; she is not, as Amy said, just a coat-hanger.

The designtestants meet Tim atop a Brooklyn rooftop, if for no other reason than it’s a rooftop, I guess, and he spills the beans about this week’s challenge: to create a street style look that the models can post on social media to boost their careers.

Then the models pick their designers: Jazzmine selects Samantha; Meisha picks her Japanese buddy Kentaro; Sanita chooses Kenya; Christina pairs with Margarita. Colleen picks Brandon; Liris chooses Michael; Marsha goes for Amy; Monique chooses Batani. Lena selects Ayana.

Claire and Shawn are not being picked; well, at least Bottom Claire, because Shawn gets picked before her, by Janine, and finally the last model standing, Sian, gets Claire, and she acts like it was meant to be.

The designtestants and their model-clients then take a stroll through Brooklyn and toss about ideas before heading off to Mood with $200 and one day to work.

Let’s rip ...

THE SAFES

Clockwise from top left

AMY I like it; well, I like the reversible jacket; the rest is just a basic Little Black Dress.

AYANA I hate to agree with Shawn, but that pink thing does look like  a bathrobe. And, I’m with Tim about the stars! Why??

BATANI Her client, Monique, wanted African prints and Batani really gave it to her ... and not, in my mind, in a good way. It’s literally too literal.

MICHAEL I like the technique he used to create the slits in the fabric, but, in the end, it’s just a nice dress with slits.

BRANDON He vowed to give us something different and yet we got another wide-legged pant and cropped top, layered upon layered look with straps. I like it, but ... c’mon!

TOPS AND BOTTOMS

SAMANTHA

Her client is Jazzmine, whose fashion sense is Grunge-Glam and Samantha, whose style is something called Lolita—modest but edgy—thinks they’ll have this. Sadly, every time Samantha thinks she “has it” she doesn’t.

When Tim sees the look, along with Jazzmine, he likes it, though Jazzmine seems worried it might read too Goth, and not as Glam. But Samantha soldiers on, and at one point, even suggests to the room that she might keep the look she’s making and give Jazzmine something from her own closet.

Uh oh.

WHAT SHE SAID

It’s an equal balance of cute and tough.

WHAT I SAID

I don’t know from Lolita, but this reads a bit too Little Girl Goth to me.

WHAT THE JUDGES SAID

Guest judge, The Beautiful Georgina Chapman™ starts off saying the look is verging on costume; it’s not fresh or modern, and she feels Samantha needs a bigger voice.

Zac Posen says it’s too literal Lolita, too one-note, and he’d like a more runway version of it.

Guest judge, singer Kelsea Ballerini likes it without the vest and loves the work and the details.

Heidi Klum also loves the details, the lace and corset and straps, oh my, that went into the piece.

Nina Garcia, however, once again wanted what Samantha’s wearing because it has a presence on the runway.

But the best part is when Zac notes all the layers and Heidi asks why; he explains that the layers become evident when the model sits, but Heidi again wonders why, since models don’t sit on the runway. Nina stops them all with:

“She could be standing on her head and it would have no effect. I really could care less about this look.”

Bam! Mean Garcia strikes again!

CLAIRE

She is not at all bothered at being picked last because this will be a week of redemption ... with a sweatshirt and jogging pants in basic black. No ... seriously. Now, to be fair, her client, Sian, wants something comfy, but aren’t there other options besides an oversized sweatshirt?

Tim and Sian do like the direction Claire is headed, though when she suggests putting some words on the garment—Twins Rule? Somebody Save Me From My Sister? I Have No Real Talent?—Tim puts the kibosh on that at once. 

What he cannot stop is Claire stopping her own work because Shawn needs help with a pocket or a measurement or a stitch or a stroke of her massive ego. In fact, Claire spends so much time helping her sister, that she cannot make jogging pants and instead gives Sian short ... short  ... shorts.

WHAT SHE SAID

Sian is rocking this look ... she’s strong and confident.

WHAT I SAID

Basic boring black and blue with butt cheeks.

WHAT THE JUDGES SAID

Nina Garcia liked the idea of sportswear, but thought it was missing a pop of color and said it photographed like a black blob; she’s also seen it before and before and before.

Zac Posen reminded us all that social media is the public’s form of editorial—go figure—and this look, while well-executed, was making no fashion statement.

Heidi Klum said the look did nothing for the model’s figure, though she liked the top ... up close.

Kelsea Ballerini stayed positive and said she liked the top.

The Beautiful Georgina Chapman™ said if you’re doing all black, then the silhouette is very important, and this silhouette gave the model no waist and made her look pregnant—which isn’t good when you’re not pregnant.

At the Up Close Look, Tim tells the judges that Claire wanted pants, but spent so much time helping Shawn craft her look that she could only make the shorts; while this isn’t against a rule, Zac doesn’t like it, but Kelsea made a good point, though, that Claire could have, and should have, told Shawn ‘No’.

KENYA

Kenya’s girl, Sanita, wants something simple and sleek, and Kenya thinks menswear. Then she also thinks emerald green fabrics and a Dalmation print, so I don’t know if that’s where this went off the rails for me but it seems like a good start.

When Tim and Sanita come by for a look and a fitting, Tim calls the emerald “a lot” and worries that Sanita will look like a “green bean.” Of course, Kenya spins out because she doesn’t know how to fix it and all she has is green fabrics and the Puppy Print.

WHAT SHE SAID

She looks great ... sophisticated.

WHAT I SAID

She looks like Cruella DeVil after being arrested and forced to pick up garbage along the highway in a green prison jumpsuit.

WHAT THE JUDGES SAID

Zac Posen calls it “Debbie Harry meets Peter Pan meets 101 Dalmatians” ... and he likes it.

The Beautiful Georgina Chapman™ says it has an ease and a confidence, and is both strong and quirky.

Kelsea Ballerini calls it stunning and says the model has legs for days.

Nina Garcia believes it looks mysterious, chic, retro, French.

Heidi loves the green and the petals, but isn’t a fan of the print.

SHAWN

Shawn likes what her model, Janine, has on at their consult, and Shawn likes what she’s wearing, so she basically takes her look and the model’s look and makes another version in the same colors and very similar fabrics; yes, she is that talented ... and that was sarcasm in case you missed it.

Tim also notes that the look is very similar to what Shawn is wearing, but lets it end there because Shawn needs to get busy having Claire do a vast majority of her work, from opinions and thoughts to actual cutting and sewing.

WHAT SHE SAID

I’m in awe ... she looks so confident ... effortless ...easy.

WHAT I SAID

Um, yeah, because she’s wearing basically what she wore the day before.

WHAT THE JUDGES SAID

Zac Posen points out that the pants look slick—thanks to Claire, no doubt, though Shawn says nothing—and loves that the look can got day to night.

Heidi Klum thinks it’s fantastic, and notes that this all black number works better than Claire’s black hot mess.

Nina Garcia says feminine and pretty always sell, and she loved the bow detail on the back—which Shawn actually may have done.

Kelsea also likes the bows and calls the look adorable.

The Beautiful Georgina Chapman™ says it has an elegance and an ease.  I think Claire did that, too.

KENTARO

Meisha selects Kentaro mainly because they both speak Japanese, but that provided a good jumping off point for them. Kentaro wanted to make something that reflected both Japanese and American styles: a Kimono style short over denim pants, with a sexy crop top.

Tim loves how they are meshing their ideas together to create a look that represents them both. There are no problems with this look, though Kentaro says something about the top looking like ... and I think this is what he said ... mayonnaise; even Michael thought he said mayo.

WHAT HE SAID

Meisha looks great because she has natural beauty ... edgy and beautiful.

WHAT I SAID

It’s cool and urban and sexy and modern and different. I.Love.It.

WHAT THE JUDGES SAID

Heidi Klum called it the coolest look on the runway, and loved the shorts over the jeans.

The Beautiful Georgina Chapman™ called it samurai dangerous, and both masculine and feminine. She says it has a personality and a direction.

Nina Garcia called it haphazard in a way that works.

Zac Posen called it crisp and easy and loved the draping of the top. Up close, though, he noted that the jeans weren’t pants at all, but just leggings, and all the judges agreed that was a great choice.

MARGARITA     

Christina picked her, and since they are both Latina and both had the same sense of style and flair, this was a match made in heaven ... at least until the runway.

When Christina said her style inspiration was Aaliyah. Margarita loved it ... loved it ... and ran with it. She went for baggy, saggy white pants, a tight, barely there halter top, and a bomber jacket. It was a lot, and she was worried, but Tim could see that both women ... both women ... loved the idea and o he urged Margarita to “make it work.”

WHAT SHE SAID

She looks hella cool.

WHAT I SAID

She’s a Fly Girl from In Living Color ... Google it youngun’s.

WHAT THE JUDGES SAID

Kelsea Ballerini loved the jacket but was indifferent about the pants; Margarita said she made the pants her client wanted even though she wasn’t a fan ... huh, what?

Zac Posen then dubbed Christina a “picky” client, and said he hated the fit on the pants ... a woman’s crotch made him uneasy ... go figure. Margarita missed her second chance to say she was behind the look, huh ... what?

Heidi Klum called it cheesy and not modern, and said it looked like a back-up dancer; Margarita nodded ... huh ... what?

Nina Garcia loved the jacket but felt the look was too Miami ... which is a bad thing I guess ... ?

The Beautiful Georgina Chapman™ loved the street style but said she thought Margarita had no voice ... unless it was throwing her client under the bus. She also said it was dated dated dated; three times as bad, you know.

Well, it’s a no-brainer that Kentaro won;; I loved his shock when Heidi asked if he thought he was in the Top or Bottom and he said Top, and giggled when she agreed. This was a surefire win.

Now, I think Margarita should have gone for her silly look that wasn’t really fashion ... or Claire should have gone for The Blob and then we could have seen how Shawn flails next week having to do her own work.

But, in the end, Samantha’s Lolita was crushed and Auf’d.

I am over Claire helping Shawn and Shawn being such a demanding bitch. I want a Claire-Shawn Meltdown-Bitchfest-Smackdown, please? Otherwise, just send them both home because they bug me.

That said, why aren’t the other designers calling them out on the runway? Stop being so nice! This is reality TV and in reality people aren’t nice ... are they?

I loved Brandon’s nervous little giggle when asked if he had a crush on any model; he really is adorable. That said, when he got the call home, and then didn’t really step out of his comfort zone in his look, I was worried there’d be repercussions ... even if he has immunity.

LINES OF THE NIGHT:

Liris:

“I’m kinda like Beyoncé in concert, but on the street.”

Beyoncé should be so fierce!

Kentaro, to his model:

“I wanna make you look dirty ... homeless ... but clean, modern, beautiful homeless.”

Now that would be a look ...

Kenya, on starting her look over:

“If I even think about it, or even try to recreate something right now, I won’t get finished. We don’t all have a sister on Project Runway.”

Ding.Ding.Ding. We have a winner.

I fear for Margarita since she threw Christina under the bus and acted like she didn’t want to design what she designed. Christina was pissed at the critiques and if she and Margarita work together again, it might just go south.

I loved having The Beautiful Georgina Chapman™; I lovelovelove her. That said, why a singer as a judge? I mean, they didn’t even suggest she had a fashion line or blog and what she was wearing was bo-ring.

And Kentaro asking if saying “African look” is racist was kinda everything.

So, The Tents? Brandon and Kentaro. Kenya redeemed herself, at least to the judges if not to me. The Twins? Not if there is any justice left in this world at all! Batani? Maybe. Amy? She needs a win because she’s going unnoticed as hell. Michael also needs another Top Look, as does Ayana. Margarita may have reached her pinnacle ... which is really a tiny pebble about a quarter way up the hill, so she should go soon.

Brandon, Kentaro, Kenya, and Michael are who I want to see.

Next week, a duo challenge with the Twins on one team. And so, I’m’a need someone to step up and call out the bull shiz!

What did YOU think?