The last few days have seen an explosion of controversial news stories. In an effort to contain the blast, I’m rounding up my thoughts on these stories in a lightning round opinion piece.
Misha Collins’ Bisexual Mishap
At Creation Entertainment’s Supernatural Official Convention last Friday Misha Collins asked the room, “By a show of force, how many of you would consider yourself introverts? How many extroverts? And how many bisexuals? I’m all three.”
Many took this to mean Collins had come out as bisexual, but a few days later Collins clarified on his Twitter: “I am not bisexual. I happen to be straight, but I am also a fierce ally and the last thing I want to do is falsely co-opt the struggles of the LGBTQIA+ community … I am deeply sorry for the clumsiness of my language.”
Collins claimed that the “how many bisexuals” joke was meant “to wave off actually discussing my sexuality,” which I think is completely bonkers. If you didn’t want to discuss your sexuality, why did you say “bisexual?” Were you trying to say “ambivert,” which sounds and means nothing like “bisexual?” Why did you think that would be funny?
What are funny, however, are the memes. Collins’ most notable role was as the angel Castiel in the CW series “Supernatural,” a role where his character (and sometimes the actor himself) was paired with Jensen Ackles’ Dean Winchester. The “Supernatural” fanbase was notoriously rambunctious back in the show’s heyday, so some of the memes highlight how the fandom would have imploded had this incident happened five or so years ago.
Elon Musk Buying Twitter
Tesla CEO and emerald mine inheritor Elon Musk has purchased Twitter for $44 billion, after secretly amassing a 9.5% stake in the company. Declining a spot on Twitter’s board of directors, Musk announced he would buy Twitter and make it private for the “future of civilization.” Many have reacted by announcing they’ll be leaving the platform, heading back to the greener pastures of Tumblr.
I don’t think Twitter’s going anywhere any time soon. I’m definitely not a big fan of Musk, but this seems like the sort of issue everyone’s going to forget in a week. As someone who’s been on Tumblr for almost eight years, I know social media platforms are hardier than they seem. Unless Musk does something crazy and bungles the code so badly the platform ceases to function (knock on wood), Twitter will continue to exist.
The funny thing about the Twitter exodus to Tumblr is that it’s come on the coattails of a rumored TikTok exodus to Tumblr. We were already making genuine and joking posts alike for new users, and now the cycle begins anew.
Don’t Say Gay at Disney
After Disney opposed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which prevents teachers from talking about sexual orientation or gender identity in kindergarten through third-grade classrooms, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill into law that removed Disney’s ability to self-govern the Reedy Creek Improvement District in Orlando. It’s not clear yet how the surrounding counties will be affected by the dissolving of their 25,000-acre property, but it’s pretty clear that this is an act of retaliation by state Republicans.
It just seems like such a waste of time to me. Why burn a bridge with such a big company, especially when you plan on running for president in 2024? What happens if this backfires and screws over your constituents? To be fair, though, I don’t think DeSantis really cares.
Depp Versus Miller
The legal battles between Amber Heard and Johnny Depp have been building up since their divorce in 2017. The domestic violence allegations against Depp caused him to lose several prominent roles, including Grindelwald in the “Fantastic Beasts” franchise and Jack Sparrow in the “Pirates of the Caribbean” series. The John C. Depp, II v. Amber Laura Heard trial is currently ongoing.
I don’t want to focus on the specifics of the trial while it’s still ongoing. Instead, I’d rather focus on someone I mentioned in my article about the Chris Rock and Will Smith incident a few weeks ago – Ezra Miller. Since the last incident, where Miller was charged with disorderly conduct and harassment after attacking people at a bar, they have had a restraining order filed against them and have been arrested again, this time for second-degree assault. This is not the first time they have been violent, having been caught on film choking a fan, kissing another and threatening the KKK. The restraining order came after Miller broke into a couple’s bedroom and threatened and robbed them.
Depp has allegations against him and gets kicked out of two prominent franchises right away, but Miller’s been caught assaulting people for months and Warner Bros. are only just now discussing removing him as the Flash? Why is there such a disparity here? It just doesn’t sit right with me.
Categories: Opinion
THE HERALD 
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