Eye | Edie Campbell Joins Tim Blanks, Talks 'Creative Genius' Sex Demands and New Age For Female Photographers

Edie Campbell Joins Tim Banks, Talks 'Creative Genius' Sex Demands and New Age For Female Photographers

Edie Campbell sits down with Tim Blanks at London's Dover Street Market, for a frank conversation on enabling behavior in the fashion industry. The convo is a follow-up to her open letter published on WWD in November 2017. 

First and foremost, Edie challenges the entire industry -- agents, publishers, designers -- about their protection of the 'creative geniuses' at the expense of young models. Campbell is so articulate in her observations and critical thinking that this interview is well worth the listen. 

In a closing statement that is music to my ears, Edie Campbell is asked by Tim Blanks if we are entering a golden age for female photographers in the fashion industry. Edie is very comfortable agreeing that this is a likely possibility and a clear way of ending the abuse, especially with so many talented women available without the sexual expectations and demands of male photographers. 

L’Oréal Paris Fires Amena Khan Over 2014 Anti-Israel Tweet, Requiring Yet Again That Models Not Have Opinions

L’Oréal Paris Fires Amena Khan Over 2014 Anti-Israel Tweet, Requiring Yet Again That Models Not Have Opinions

British beauty blogger Amena Khan's L'Oréal Paris campaign debuted in two parts. Khan made history as the first hijab-wearing model to star in a hair campaign for a major international media brand. L'Oreal flexed their global diversity muscles, explaining that hair care is of interest to every woman, whether she shows her hair in public or not. 

Khan, who first began wearing a headscarf in public during her twenties, also worked with the French brand on their 2017 collaboration with The Prince’s Trust, wrote on her Instagram that this was a “game changing” new project.

Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards Announces Search To Replace Her in 2018

Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards Announces Search To Replace Her in 2018

Cecile Richards sent spasms of concern through the hearts of progressive women, announcing that she will leave her position as president of Planned Parenthood later this year. As The Trump Administration launches a full frontal assault against Planned Parenthood 45 years after the Supreme Court affirmed a woman's right to abortion, a new leader will step into the limelight. 

The New York Times writes that the move is well timed for her to promote a new memoir: "Make Trouble: Standing Up, Speaking Out, and Finding the Courage to Lead — My Life Story" due out in April. 

Richards says she's not running for any office and plans on pouring herself into the midterm elections, fund-raising, campaigning for Democrats and advising the record number of women candidates. 

"She has really helped put a face on the position," explained Democratic Senator Patty Murray, adding that Richards is "unfazed by the horrendous, awful, negative attacks." Tapped to lead Planned Parenthood in 2006, Richards was then deputy chief of staff to Representative Nancy Pelosi from California. Under her leadership, Planned Parenthood's base of volunteers and suporters has grown from 2.5 million to 11 million. Since Trump's victory over Hillary Clinton, Planned Parenthood has added 700,000 new donors. 

Living in New York, Richards was also effective in winning over billionaire donors like Michael R. Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York and a major supporter of Planned Parenthood. 

Israel's Politics -- Not Religious Laws -- Put Women At Back Of Bus During Pence's Visit To Israel

Israel's Politics -- Not Religious Laws -- Put Women At Back Of Bus During Pence's Visit To Israel

Haaretz reports that the "last-minute public relations black eye" was avoidable. "It seemed that the American embassy in Israel, which set up the press arrangements in cooperation with the rabbinical authorities at the Wall had paid little attention to the grumbling of female journalists back in May, when U.S. President Donald Trump and his family visited the wall. During that visit, too, women and men, including journalists, were completely separated, the women restricted behind what is known as a “mechitza” - a barrier separating the sexes, intended to allow each gender to focus on praying undistracted."

When the Trump contingent visited the Western Wall, the group included Orthodox Jews Jared Kushner and Ivanka and the custom of separation was required. However, writes Haaretz, there was no need to separate the women journalists during the Mike Pence visit because the entire site had been cleared for the VIP visitors.  ". . . while Karen and Mike Pence may be religious and used the time at the Wall to pray - there are no strictures on Evangelical Christians requiring them to pray only in the company of their own sex.

It's pure politics, writes Haaretz, citing the ongoing battle between ultra-Orthodox Jews and the Jewish feminist group "Women of the Wall," together with the Reform and Conservative movements, locked in an ongoing battle over policy and procedures at the Western Wall. 

USA Gymnastics Doctor Larry Nassar Sentenced To 175 Years Max For Sexual Crimes Against Female Gymnasts

This despicable doctor, the former team doctor for USA Gymnastics and team doctor at Michigan State University,  Larry Nassar does not believe he did anything wrong. I couldn't even work when Wednesday's drama began. Many current and former gymnasts, including gold medalists McKayla Maroney, Aly Raisman and Simone Biles, say they are among the girls and young women sexually abused by Nassar under the guise of medical treatment.

Nasser pleaded guilty in November to seven counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct. Judge Rosemarie Aquilina ended the drama by sentencing Nassar to up to 175 years in prison, after 156 women and girls made victim-impact statements over seven days of court proceedings. The chief prosecutor, Michigan Assistant Attorney General Angela Povilaitis credited investigative reporters at The Indianapolis Star and former gymnast Rachael Denhollander for bringing Nasser's long-hidden crimes to light.

When Judge Aquilina read portions of Nasser's letter to the court, I gasped. Nasser made that classic comment about women "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned." This criminal, sexual assaulter totally sees himself as a victim, agreeing he had child porn on his computers for years, but totally denying that he is a deviant, guilty of criminal behavior to these girls. 

Mary Alice Carter Leads New Equity Forward, Monitoring Women's Reproductive Health Care Rights At HHS

Mary Alice Carter Leads New Equity Forward, Monitoring Women's Reproductive Health Care Rights At HHS

Hearings opened for on Jan. 9 for HHS nominee Alex Azar to replace Tom Price as HHS Secretary. Women's health groups launched a full-scale confrontation around women's reproductive health -- clearly under assault by the Trump administration. The issues go far beyond abortion rights and into contraception. Trump has stacked HHS with women who don't believe in birth control. 

A new group Equity Forward will be acting as a watchdog focused on reproductive health care at the Department of Health and Human Services. 

Mary Alice Carter, the executive director of Equity Forward, which officially launched Friday, said the nonpartisan group will hold accountable organizations and individuals they argue limit access to reproductive health care.

The Big Women's March On American Politics | Rebecca Traister Digs Deep Into The Women Running

The Big Women's March On American Politics | Rebecca Traister Digs Deep Into The Women Running

There's another Women's March brewing, writes Rebecca Traister for New York Magazine. As marchers all over America celebrated the one year anniversary of The Women's March, the largest activist march in American history, on Saturday and Sunday, Traister writes an in-depth look about the unprecedented number of women running for political office across America. 

To date, 390 women are planning to run for the House of Representatives, a figure that’s higher than at any point in American history. Twenty-two of them are non-incumbent black women — for scale, there are only 18 black women in the House right now. Meanwhile, 49 women are likely to be running for the Senate, about 68 percent higher than the number who’d announced at the same point in 2014. 

Of the 49 women currently planning to run for the Senate (including incumbents, challengers, and those running for open spots), 31 are Democrats. Well over half of the 79 women slated to campaign for governor are Dems, as are 80 percent of the women setting their sights on the House.

These women candidates are eying political offices at every level of local, state and national government. But make no mistake: 29-year-old Republican Lindsay Brown calls herself a "qualified millennial woman running a progressive campaign" for a US House seat in New Jersey. Democratic women would be thrilled to see more 70's style Republicans be elected to political office. In fact the very best event that could happen to Republicans is forward-looking, moderate, millennial women winning political office.

10 Interviews Support Sexual Harassment Allegations Against PA (R) Rep. Patrick Meehan

10 Interviews Support Sexual Harassment Allegations Against PA (R) Rep. Patrick Meehan

Apparently, House Speaker Paul Ryan didn't ask Pennsylvania Republican Representative Patrick Meehan if there was any private reason outside of his position on the House Ethics committee that would prevent him from conducting an effective role in redefining how sexual misconduct claims are handled in Congress.  

Revelations that Congressman Meehan actually made a settlement with a decades younger aide in 2017 caught Speaker Ryan by surprise. AshLee Strong, a spokeswoman for the said that “this is new information to us” when asked about the settlement in a brief interview on Friday.

The New York Times interviewed 10 people including friends and former colleagues of the former aide and others who worked around the office. The young woman is a family friend of the Meehan's and became so demoralized by the Congressman's antagonistic behavior when she became involved with a new boyfriend, that she filed a complaint with the congressional Office of Compliance in the summer of 2017, alleging sexual harassment. The events that followed underscore why women typically don't file complaints against members of Congress. Now Meehan is theoretically empowered to change those procedures with new ones much fairer to victims. The Times writes a Rep. Jackie Speier's playbook expose. Speier's is leading the charge in Congress to reform current procedures:

Condé Nast Leads Fashion Industry In Suspending All Work With Mario Testino and Bruce Weber, Based On NYT Sexual Harassment Investigation

Condé Nast Leads Fashion Industry In Suspending All Work With Mario Testino and Bruce Weber, Based On NYT Sexual Harassment Investigation

Hours after a Saturday morning report on The New York Times about the very significant and growing number of accusations against Bruce Weber and Mario Testino,  Condé Nast's Anna Wintour issued a statement that the magazines will not commission any new work with the two men  "for the foreseeable future." Terry Richardson was previously banned in October. 

The Telegraph wrote today that Mario Testino, the front runner to photograph the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle given his long and close relationship with the royal family, was no longer under consideration. 

"Today, allegations have been made against Bruce Weber and Mario Testino, stories that have been hard to hear and heartbreaking to confront," Wintour wrote. Fashion industry insiders described the industry icon as being deeply upset. 

"Both are personal friends of mine who have made extraordinary contributions to Vogue and many other titles at Condé Nast over the years, and both have issued objections or denials to what has emerged. I believe strongly in the value of remorse and forgiveness, but I take the allegations very seriously, and we at Condé Nast have decided to put our working relationship with both photographers on hold for the foreseeable future."

Brands Michael Kors, Stuart Weitzman issued statements confirming that they will not work with Testino in the future. Burberry made the same pledge, although it hasn't work with Testino for a year. A spokesperson for Ralph Lauren, which frequently uses Weber to shoot its ad campaigns, said, “The allegations reported in the recent New York Times article are completely contrary to our values, and to our commitment to creating an environment where our employees and outside partners feel welcome, safe and can perform at their best. We will not do business with anyone who behaves in a way that compromises this commitment.”

Condé Nast also issued new guidelines for working with models appearing in their publications, and we will publish those guidelines separately. It's noteworthy that the organization again raised the age of its editorial models from 16 to 18. 

Mark Wahlberg Donates Entire $1.5 Million Reshoot Fee To Time's Up In Honor Of Michelle Williams

Mark Wahlberg Donates Entire $1.5 Million Reshoot Fee To Time's Up In Honor Of Michelle Williams

The 'Time's Up' movement got a kick in the gut after The Golden Globes, learning that pay inequity in Hollywood is so rampant that Mark Wahlberg received an additional $1.5 million for reshoots, compared to the per diem allowance of about $1000 a day for Michelle Williams, one of the founders of 'Time's Up'. USA Today reported on Tuesday that this pay gap was the result of Ridley Scott's decision to reshoot scenes of the thriller about J Paul Getty, without the disgraced Kevin Spacey, who was replaced with Christopher Plummer. 

On Saturday Wahlberg bowed to the public outcry, agreeing to donate his fee to the Time's Up fund. 

"Over the last few days my reshoot fee for 'All the Money in the World' has become an important topic of conversation," Wahlberg said Saturday in a statement. "I 100 percent support the fight for fair pay and I’m donating the $1.5 million to the Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund in Michelle Williams’ name.”

WME also responded to the injustice and pr nightmare, announcing: "The current conversation is a reminder that those of us in a position of influence have a responsibility to challenge inequities, including the gender wage gap. In recognition of the pay discrepancy on the 'All the Money in the World' reshoots, WME is donating an additional $500,000 to the Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund in Michelle Williams’ name, following our $1 million pledge to the organization earlier this month. It’s crucial that this conversation continues within our community and we are committed to being part of the solution.” 

Women Directors Again Snubbed As London's BAFTA Announces 2018 Nominees

Women Directors Again Snubbed As London's BAFTA Announces 2018 Nominees

Minutes after Oprah delivered her earth-shaking speech at the Jan. 7, 2018 Golden Globes, Natalie Portman and Ron Howard arrived at the podium to announce the winner of Best Director.  

Howard thanked the Globes for asking them to ‘be here to present the award for Best Director’ before long-time activist Portman added: ‘And here are all the male nominees.’

The male nominees wore deer-caught-in-the-headlights looks on their faces as the TV cameras panned their faces. But Twitter went to bat for Portman, incredulous that she had the moxie to mimic and build on Oprah's momentum -- an act that few could follow. 

Two days after 'Time's Up' made history at the Golden Globes, the BAFTA (British Academy Film Awards) nominations were announced. One again, nominees in the best-director category are all-male. 

Oprah Winfrey Sends Spirits Soaring In 2018 Golden Globes Speech On 'Time's Up' and #MeToo

Oprah Winfrey Sends Spirits Soaring In 2018 Golden Globes Speech On 'Time's Up' and #MeToo

Oprah Winfrey brought down the house last night at the 75th Golden Globes telecast, delivering the most motivating and inspiring words we've heard in one of the longest, harshest, most vulgar 12 months of an American presidency ever. Oprah gave us reason to hope -- which is probably why Oprah for President in 2020 Tweet flocks were flying in strict formation. Oprah was passionate and articulate, and not self-flattering in that obnoxious Trumpian way that so many of us loathe. She was confident in her wisdom, with no need to prove her credentials --  in contrast to a man who appears to be one of America's most insecure presidents ever and devotes every day of his life trying to convince us that he is a true genius and a great American progeny. 

Oprah delivered complete, focused sentences with nouns and verbs. She did not say "very, very" -- only "Amen, amen, amen." Read the entire transcript of her speech at the LA Times. We've highlighted the core themes from her rousing words. As for all the Oprah for president conversation, talk to us after the 2018 elections. It is clear that Oprah can do a lot for Democrats in the 2018 midterm elections, as she did in getting Barack Obama elected president. 

BBC China Editor Carrie Gracie Resigns Over Refusal To Grant Her Equal Pay For Equal Status, Quality Work

BBC China Editor Carrie Gracie Resigns Over Refusal To Grant Her Equal Pay For Equal Status, Quality Work

We have a super high-profile resignation at the BBC. China editor Carrie Gracie gave the BBC months to rectify her unequal pay -- the very condition under which she came to the BBC in the first place three decades ago. In an open letter just published, she outlines all the ways the BBC tried to get around this fundamental concept -- that a woman editor should have salary parity with men, and especially one as qualified as Gracie.

Because British taxpayers funds the BBC, Gracie writes: "I believe you have a right to know that it is breaking equality law and resisting pressure for a fair and transparent pay structure."

No intelligent organization would want to run the risk that Gracie would go public and resign. It IS about power when a group of men calculate that an accomplished woman with a global following won't have the nerve to walk -- and tell the whole world her story, as she slams the door behind her.

They were wrong

Hoda Kotb Becomes 'Today' Co-Anchor! With Daughter Haley Joy, Hoda Says: 'Let's Go Girls!'

HODA KOTB, LEFT, AND SAVANNAH GUTHRIE IN NOVEMBER. CREDIT: HIROKO MASUIKE/THE NEW YORK TIMES

Hoda Kotb Becomes 'Today' Co-Anchor! With Daughter Haley Joy, Hoda Says: 'Let's Go Girls!'

Hoda Kotb (pronounced COT-bee) will permanently replace disgraced NBC Today show anchor Matt Lauer, the network announced on Tuesday. For the first time in 'Today's' history, NBC's most profitable franchise will be placed in the hands of two women -- Kotb and existing anchor Savannah Guthrie. 

“We are kicking off the year right, because Hoda is officially the co-anchor of ‘Today,’” Ms. Guthrie said, sitting next to Ms. Kotb. “This has to be the most popular decision NBC News has ever made, and I am so thrilled.”

Ms. Kotb, 53, responded: “I am pinching myself.”

Guthrie has been a 'Today' anchor since 2012 and Kotb joined NBC News in 1998 as a correspondent for 'Dateline'. In 2008 Kotb became the co-host of the fourth hour of 'Today' and rushed into the emergency substitute host spot on the morning that Laurer was fired.

An Egyptian-American, Kotb adopted in early 2017 a little girl Haley Joy and lives since fall 2016 with her longtime partner, financier Joel Shiffman. The event has completely changed her life, says Hoda, who has long wanted to be a mother but -- as a breast cancer survivor -- couldn't conceive children. 

Sabo Launches Viscious Street Art Attack Against Meryl Streep Claiming 'She Knew' About Weinstein

Sabo Launches Viscious Street Art Attack Against Meryl Streep Claiming 'She Knew' About Weinstein

A right-wing, LA-based street artist who goes by the name Sabo has claimed responsibility for a campaign targeting actress Meryl Streep in conjunction with the Harvey Weinstein debacle. The campaign features posters showing a beaming actress next to Harvey Weinstein but with a Barbara Kruger-style red banner across her eyes stating: “She knew.”

The words “She knew” in the posters are intended to suggest that Streep had knowledge but chose to ignore the disgraced movie mogul’s history of alleged sexual assaults. Sabo, who The Guardian says is 49, told the newspaper on Wednesday that he conceived the campaign with two collaborators—they are not named in the report—as retaliation for Streep using her most recent film, The Post, to criticize Donald Trump. “She’s swiping at us so we’re swiping back,” Sabo told The Guardian.

The posters began showing up on Tuesday in Los Angeles, including near Streep’s house, as well as the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists’s headquarters, and the studio lot of 20th Century Fox, according to the report.

Anita Hill Assumes Leadership Of Hollywood Commission On Sexual Harassment & Advancing Equality In Workplace

Anita Hill Assumes Leadership Of Hollywood Commission On Sexual Harassment & Advancing Equality In Workplace

Anita Hill, a woman who commands total respect among hard-line feminists and suburban moms alike, and is now a law professor at Brandeis University specializing in law and social policy, has agreed to lead a commission birthed out of the Harvey Weinstein Hollywood debacle. Hill emerged in the national dialogue on sexual harassment, after infamously testifying against Clarence Thomas's supreme court confirmation hearings in 1991. Thomas had been Hill's boss at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and she claimed very boorish, tasteless and ongoing harassment of a sexual nature from now Supreme Court Justice Thomas.

Although over 70% of Americans didn't believe Hill's testimony, women's rights advocates did, and remain unhappy with how Obama VP Joe Biden handled Hill's testimony as head of the Judiciary Committee.  Biden refused to let more women coming forward against Thomas and suspended the hearing for a vote. As much as Democrat women like Joe Biden, they have never forgotten Anita's testimony and how she was treated by the white boys club in Congress. 

In a recent interview with Teen Vogue, former senator and vice-president Joe Biden, who led the inquisition og Hill, said he wished he “had been able to do more” for her. He added: “I owe her an apology.”

The Commission on Sexual Harassment and Advancing Equality in the Workplace will be charged with tackling “the broad culture of abuse and power disparity” in media and entertainment, a statement from its organisers said. The commission on sexual misconduct has been organized and financed by Hollywood's most prominent figures, writes The Guardian. 

Commission organisers include Kathleen Kennedy, president of Lucasfilm; Freada Kapor Klein, a venture capitalist and longtime advocate for sexual harassment victims; Nina Shaw, a Hollywood lawyer; and Maria Eitel, who co-chairs the Nike Foundation.

'Feminism' Ranks As Top Search Word In 2017, According To Mirriam-Webster Dictionary

It's official: leading US dictionary Merriam-Webster says that its 2017 word of the year is 'feminism'. Peter Sokolowski, Mirriam-Webster's editor-at-large said that people searching for the word was up 70 percent. "The word was in the air", said Sokolowski. 

Described as “the theory of the political, economic and social equality of the sexes” by the dictionary, the word 'feminism also means “organised activity on behalf of women’s rights and interests”.

Other contenders for 2017’s prize were “complicit” (which was widely used in the Trump/Russia scandal) and “dotard” (which is the adjective Kim Jong-un used to describe the US president).

The word 'feminism' got a huge boost with the November 21 Women's March in DC and around the world. With Women's Marches all over America, the event is considered to be the largest activism march ever.

Just when searches were perhaps slowing down, the #metoo movement began, which put 'feminism' once again on the front burner, boosted yet again by TIME magazine's person of the year award as 'The Silence Breakers'. 

Republican women do not strongly identify with the word 'feminist' and Mirriam-Webster says Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway also gave searches a boost.  The Washington Post clarifies:

“It’s difficult for me to call myself a feminist in the classic sense because it seems to be very anti-male and it certainly is very pro-abortion, and I’m neither anti-male or pro-abortion. So, there’s an individual feminism, if you will, that you make your own choices…. I look at myself as a product of my choices, not a victim of my circumstances,” Conway said during the annual Conservative Political Action Conference at National Harbor in Maryland last February.

In fact, feminism is not pro-abortion, but a core belief is the women have a right to control our own bodies and that opposition to a right to birth control, for example,  is now unconstitutional. Feminism does emphasize body autonomy within a range of sensible restrictions. 

Ten Women Have Now Accused Russell Simmons Of Sexual Assault Or Harassment

Ten Women Have Now Accused Russell Simmons Of Sexual Assault Or Harassment

Four more women have come forward to accuse music producer Russell Simmons of sexual assault. In what are becoming excruciating reads in the New York Times, former Def Jam Records employee Drew Dixon, former music journalist Tonie Sallie and performer Tina Baker allege that Russell Simmons raped them in encounters that span a period from 1988 to 2014.In a separate report published Wednesday in The LA Times, performer Sherri Hines alleged that Simmons raped her around 1983.

Simmons has responded: "I have re-dedicated myself to spiritual learning, healing and working on behalf of the communities to which I have devoted my life. I have accepted that I can and should get dirt on my sleeves if it means witnessing the birth of a new consciousness about women," Simmons said in a statement to the New York Times on Wednesday. “What I will not accept is responsibility for what I have not done. I have conducted my life with a message of peace and love. Although I have been candid about how I have lived in books and interviews detailing my flaws, I will relentlessly fight against any untruthful character assassination that paints me as a man of violence.”

Because the Salma Hayek/Harvey Weinstein op-ed is waiting to be posted, and I just read that PBS has suspended Tavis Smiley after conducting a private investigation, I have nothing more to say about Russell Simmons behaving badly. Oh, and I must update Trump's attack on Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand. Tracking all these guys is a full-time job these days.

Atlanta Mayor's Race Between Bottoms & Norwood Moves To Recount With Bottoms Leading By 800 Votes

Atlanta Mayor's Race Between Bottoms & Norwood Moves To Recount With Bottoms Leading By 800 Votes

For the second time in eight years, the leadership Atlanta, the South’s most influential city, is settling into a recount, writes The New York Times. 

Fewer than 800 votes separated Atlanta’s two candidates for mayor, Keisha Lance Bottoms and Mary Norwood, after officials tallied more than 92,000 ballots that were cast in Tuesday's  runoff election. Ms. Norwood, seeking to become Atlanta’s first white mayor in more than 40 years, said she would ask for a recount once provisional and absentee ballots were counted this week.

Ms. Bottoms and her allies would not cede the moment of jubilation, declaring victory on Wednesday.

Six Democratic Women Senators Call On Franken To Resign Immediately

Six Democratic Women Senators Call On Franken To Resign Immediately

In statements Wednesday, six of Franken's female Democratic colleagues — Senators Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, Claire McCaskill of Missouri, Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, Patty Murray of Washington and Kamala Harris of California — pushed for him to step down. Murray is the third-ranking Senate Democrat and the highest ranking woman.

We wrote last week that the new accusation from a veteran was totally backing the women into a corner, especially Sen. Gillibrand. I called on Franken to resign that day, because no one person deserves center stage. That may sound unfair, but women have dealt with false accusations for years -- and we know the probability of false accusations varies from 2-8%. When a group of women come forward -- several of them Democrats -- the probability of false accusations dwindles to near zero.