In response to criticism regarding the rapper’s recent anti-Semitic comments, Kanye West’s Donda Academy has shut down.
And Shut Down
Parents of students at the Southern California institution were informed via email that the academy had closed immediately.
Principal Jason Angell stated in the email that Donda Academy would close for the balance of the 2022–2023 academic year at the Founder’s discretion: “Effective immediately.”
The email continued, referring to Thursday, October 27: “THERE IS NO SCHOOL TOMORROW.”
In order to prevent leaks, families are required to sign non-disclosure agreements at the $15,000-per-year Donda Academy in Simi Valley, which bears West’s late mother’s name.
The Times reports that there are 13 full-time teachers and roughly 100 kids enrolled in the academy.
In September 2023, according to Principal Angell, the school intends to “begin afresh.”
“Our leadership team will be working carefully to help all families during this transition, ensuring that every scholar has everything they need to flourish in their next community in a prompt and gracious manner,” the email said.
We are optimistic that our scholars will rise as the innovative thinkers, fearless leaders, and academic leaders of the coming generation, it continued.
West was suspended from Twitter after making recent anti-Semitic remarks about “doing death con 3 on Jewish folks.”
For saying: “Ima use you as an example to show the Jewish people that told you to call me that no one can intimidate or influence me,” he was also banned from Instagram.
While West reiterated his statements, stating he was “proud to have crossed the line” and felt “glad” to be removed from the social media platforms, he does acknowledge they were racist.
West was questioned about his comments last week during an interview on Piers Morgan Uncensored.
“No, without a doubt,” he retorted.
“Definitely not. Definitely not.”
But when the host pressed him, saying that his anti-Semitic remarks were “as racist as whatever you say you’ve lived through,” West said that he did believe his remarks to be racist.
He stated: “Yes, I fought fire with fire; I’m not here to get hosed down; it’s a different kind of freedom warrior; obviously, that’s why I said it.
Later on in the conversation, West expressed regret for the “pain and uncertainty” his remarks had brought about.
He stated: “You may be sure that I will apologize for the harm and misunderstanding my usage of the term “defcon” caused.
“I feel like I caused hurt and confusion and I’m sorry for the families of the people that had nothing to do with the trauma that I had been through, and I used my platform where you say hurt people.”
Kevin Feige verified the information about Thanos resetting the cosmos in an interview with Entertainment Weekly (via UNILAD). Yet we’re not grumbling about it. Official confirmation of Tom Holland’s participation in Spider-Man 4 has come from Kevin Feige, president of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. With that in mind, fans and viewers of the MCU have been relieved about the news while also being eager for more of the iconic superhero!
Making Headlines
Spider-Man: No Way Home, Tom Holland’s final performance, was released in 2021 and was absolutely fantastic. Feige said, probably in reference to Spider-Man 4 and No Way Home, “We were all treating (No Way Home) as the end of a franchise. If we were fortunate enough to explore these characters once more, we believe you would see a completely different version. If we had anything to say about it, this would be huge news!
A Surprising Return
This is significant news since when Holland finished his first trilogy with the critically acclaimed and financially successful Spider-Man: No Way Home, the future of his Spider-Man tenure was in some doubt. A multiverse-spanning, multiple Spider-Man-starring epic, that movie was an incredible smash hit, grossing more than $1 billion worldwide (the first cinematic release to do so), and energizing fans with the reunion of both Toby Maguire and Andrew Garfield in their respective forms as Peter Parker.
Spider-Man 4’s narrative or release date remain unknown at this time, but the tiny symbiote fragment still present in the MCU may have a significant impact. Naturally, Spider-Man won’t miss out on Avengers Secret Wars, Marvel’s upcoming major event, which is set to take place in 2026. Yet another huge announcement that we’re all waiting for and something that we can look forward to, hopefully we can get our money’s worth when a new movie comes out!
The next Frankenstein film that Academy Award-winning director Guillermo del Toro is working on is now casting, and the cast is reported to include some of the most promising young actors. And now, Oscar Isaac, Andrew, Garfield, and Mia Goth are in conversations About Guillermo Del Toro’s Frankenstein.
A Starting Headline
There is not much information available about the movie, and del Toro’s creative direction is kept under wraps. According to a source close to the project, del Toro is currently revising the script, and no actors have received official offers. Yet, according to insiders, all three have met with him and have agreed to star.
Fresh Off Another
Pinocchio, directed by Guillermo del Toro, was a huge success for Netflix. It received positive reviews from critics and won numerous prizes for Best Animated Feature, including one at the 95th Academy Awards this year. He also won Best Picture in 2018 for his The Shape of Water, a horror-inspired movie. Frankenstein, directed by Guillermo del Toro, will debut on Netflix.
Del Toro has been working on his Frankenstein idea for a while. He has always wanted to make a film based on the well-known Mary Shelley tale. It is unknown if his rendition would be a period piece or take place in the present. It’s unclear who would play Dr. Frankenstein or his creation; Goth is rumored to play the doctor’s love interest. Del Toro already seems to be assembling a cast that is as hot as any in town, even in its early stages. In addition to his Emmy-nominated work in the Marvel limited series Moon Knight and HBO’s Scenes from a Marriage, Isaac is still quite active.
Whoopi Goldberg recently got into some trouble after calling the Romani people an insensitive name during an episode of The View.
“Wokeness” is complicated
The actor-turned-talk show host claimed during a discussion about the late President Donald Trump that his fans believed he was ‘gypped’ in the 2020 election.
Unbeknownst to Goldberg, the phrase “gypped,” which meaning “to rip someone off,” is probably originated from the word “gypsy,” an insult used to designate the nomadic Romani people, according to Merriam-Webster.
Social media users reacted angrily to Goldberg’s usage of the phrase as a result.
"The View" co-host Whoopi Goldberg used the term "gypped"–a slur for gypsies–while discussing former President Donald Trump. pic.twitter.com/iJcmQuKFHm
Whoopi Goldberg’s apology is well-deserved, according to one user. “Gypsies are a real class of people with their own unique hardships, and they are most often stereotyped by ignorant pretentious entitled elitists individuals like Whoopi Goldberg, and it shows,” the user added.
“I don’t know how many more’slip ups’ by Whoopi need to be done before the ABC Network takes a position,” a second stated. “I’m not even sure why The View is still there given the nonsense they’ve said and done. I guess they condone it to let it to continue.”
Shortly after the show aired, The View’s official Twitter account published an apologetic video in response to people criticizing the presenter.
You know, when you get to a certain age, you start using words you remember saying or knowing from when you were a kid. That’s what I did today, and I shouldn’t have.
“I should have thought about it a little longer before I said it, but I didn’t, and I should have said ‘cheated,’ but I used another word. And I’m really, very sorry,” the 67-year-old actor continued.
She apologized, trying not to smile as she said.
She received harsh criticism for her apology as a result.
“Don’t trust her. She’s lying yet again. She meant precisely what she stated,” one user commented.
Some social media users also noted that they were unaware that the term “gypped,” or the incorrect spelling “jipped,” was insulting.
In 2013, University of Texas at Austin professor Ian Hancock, whose Romani parents were born in Britain, described how the phrase affects people of Romani heritage to NPR.
Many frequently claim to him that they were unaware that the word “gypped” had anything to do with gypsies or that it is insulting, especially when the word is spoken rather than read, he added.
“That’s okay. You didn’t know but now you do. So stop using it. That may mean nothing to you, but when we hear it, it still hurts,” is my reply to them.
So there you have it.
Baby boomers who are ranting on social media about how the ‘awake’ world has gone insane, take note: it is no longer appropriate to compare Romani people to liars, cheaters, and thieves.
When you’re more than willing to hurt their feelings, don’t whine about how “wokeness” has wounded your feelings.