Defends

Social media giant X, formerly known as Twitter, has defended its response to recent rioting in Dublin that was in part fuelled by far-right users of the platform. X described as "inaccurate" claims by Ireland's justice minister Helen McEntee that it did not engage with Irish police during the November 23 unrest.The violence, which saw police cars and public transport vehicles set on fire and shops looted, was the worst seen in Dublin for decades. In a statement to the Irish parliament last week McEntee said that while…

Starfield has already vanished from many people’s collective consciousness, but Bethesda has begun defending the game from criticism in Steam reviews by replying to certain users. As spotted by YouTuber JuiceHead on X (formerly Twitter), Bethesda has started replying to Starfield reviews using the handles Bethesda_FalcoYamaoka and Bethesda_Kraken. In a reply to one review that criticised the number of loading screens in the game, a Bethesda developer wrote that “while there may be loading screens in between fast…

Bradley Cooper defended and explained the decision to wear a prosthetic nose while portraying Leonard Bernstein in his new film about the composer and conductor, Maestro. The critiques about the prosthetic nose quickly followed the release of the Maestro trailer in August, with some arguing the prosthetic actually detracted from Cooper’s resemblance to Bernstein, while others argued it bordered on antisemitic caricature (Cooper is not Jewish, while Bernstein was). When asked about the backlash on CBS Mornings,…

Elon Musk railed against “bogus” media reports accusing him of antisemitism, issuing his strongest response yet after endorsing antisemitic content in a post on X that provoked outrage and alienated advertisers like Apple Inc.The backlash erupted last week after the billionaire Tesla Inc. chief and X-owner agreed with a post that said Jewish people hold a “dialectical hatred” of white people. That message has since drawn criticism from the White House as well as several Tesla investors. Walt Disney Co. was among the big…

Hedge fund manager Bill Ackman defended Elon Musk after major advertisers pulled ads from social media site X over antisemitic commentary. Musk received backlash after he agreed with a post that said Jewish people hold a “dialectical hatred” of white people. “You have said the actual truth,” the billionaire owner of X posted on Wednesday.  That prompted criticism from the White House and shareholders of Tesla Inc., Musk's only publicly traded company, with some investors saying he should be suspended from his position as…

The Hunger Games was a wildly popular franchise, thanks to the acclaimed novels and four-movie film franchise starring Jennifer Lawrence. While we’ve spent some time away from that sci-fi world, fans will get to return to Panem with the prequel The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. And actor Tom Blyth recently defended Snow getting a prequel before the heroes of the franchise. Let’s break it all down.The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes cast is led by Tom Blyth, who is playing a young Coriolanus Snow. Some fans have taken…

Get our free weekly email for all the latest cinematic news from our film critic Clarisse LoughreyGet our The Life Cinematic email for freeStephen King may not be a fan of Marvel movies, but that hasn’t stopped him from defending its latest entry, The Marvels, from “very unpleasant” “fanboy hate”.Starring Brie Larson, the new film acts as a follow-up to 2019’s Captain Marvel.At the US box office, the film had the worst opening weekend in Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) history – a milestone that has been celebrated by…

SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher and other higher-ups at the union defended the union’s new contract with the studios, especially after some members criticized provisions dealing with the use of artificial intelligence. As Variety reports, Drescher called out the “naysayers” during a Zoom meeting with members on Monday, Nov. 13, saying they have “exploited this momentum of ours” and “tried to tear down what was being done in the negotiating committee.” SAG members will vote to ratify the tentative contract…

Get our free weekly email for all the latest cinematic news from our film critic Clarisse LoughreyGet our The Life Cinematic email for freeWhoopi Goldberg has defended the new Barbie film against conservative backlash.On her ABC chat show The View on Tuesday (25 July), Goldberg, 67, shared clips of right-wing commentators including Ted Cruz and Ben Shapiro criticising the new Greta Gerwig comedy.Republican Texas senator Cruz accused the filmmakers of “trying to kiss up to the Chinese communist party” (over the movie’s…

Jason Aldean defended his controversial song “Try That in a Small Town” during a gig over the weekend in Cincinnati. Aldean’s song has been criticized for promoting gun violence and taking aim at the Black Lives Matter movement. The video, which was released just over a week ago, has since been pulled by CMT. On Friday night at Cincinnati’s Riverbend Music Center, the country singer defended his song and lyrics. “I gotta tell you guys, man, it’s been a long-ass week,” he told the crowd,…