In June, when protests against racial injustice and police brutality waged in every major city across the country, a group of famous people put on black t-shirts, sat in front of their iPhones, and did some Acting for a PSA campaign called #ITakeResponsibility. Surely you remember this, but if you’ve forgotten, Aaron Paul, Aly Raisman, Bethany Joy Lenz, Bryce Dallas Howard, Debra Messing, Ilana Glazer, Julianne Moore, Justin Theroux, Kesha, Kristen Bell, Mark Duplass, Piper Perabo, Sarah Paulson, and Stanley Tucci put on their Serious Faces and read a script about taking responsibility for their part in racism, I guess?
No one cared very much for this particular mishap, and because the rest of the world has been in chaos, we’ve moved on as a society—but it seems that not a single person is willing to take responsibility for bringing this thing to life!
According to the Daily Beast, the spot was produced by Confluential Content, a production studio backed by VC investor Adam Platzner, whose family made their money by purportedly owning most of New Rochelle, New York. The Platzner family patriarch, Herbert, donated millions of dollars to the New Rochelle Police Association and the family business, Platzner International Group, has reportedly been sued at least 18 times over tenant concerns and disputes. This PSA was apparently Platzner’s first attempt at public activism, and hoo boy, what a splash it made!
The entire Daily Beast article is well worth your time, but perhaps this quote from an anonymous source about how the production came to be will further whet your whistle:
Each actor received a full script of the #ITakeResponsibility pledge, which they read in full on their own iPhones. There were no instructions on how to read or what to wear, Alex said—the monochrome tops might have been a coincidence, or an illusion helped by lighting. The piano score, the black-and-white filter, and the selection of clips from each actor’s monologue arrived in editing, without their input.
Not a single celebrity who participated in this nightmare was willing to speak about why they chose to do so, likely because they were all hoping this would disappear into the ether, absorbed by other, more pressing matters. Tough luck! [Daily Beast]
Please take this incendiary item about Meghan Markle wanting to spend her birthday anywhere other than Tyler Perry’s big-ass mansion in Hollywood where she and Prince Harry have been staying with an enormous helping of salt, as the source is the Daily Mail. However! It seems that maybe Meghan Markle wants to be anywhere other than where she is right now, as she is feeling “cooped-up” and would like to celebrate her birthday with friends somewhere other than Los Angeles.
Quarantine birthdays are difficult, and being in the same room or large house with the same person for over four months and counting is tough stuff, so I get it. But please, Meghan, there’s a big pool at the house. Just go in the pool. Let Harry teach himself how to play Borderlands 3 on the Xbox in the east wing while you lay out in the deep end having a think. That’s a lovely way to spend a birthday! Solitude.... peace. [Daily Mail]
Kandi Buruss and her daughter Riley are adorable, but what I can’t stop thinking about after watching this video is how COLD and AIR CONDITIONED it must be inside their palatial Atlanta home!
- Anna Camp would like you all to wear a mask. [People]
- Kylie Jenner and Travis Scott, sitting in a hotel room in Montecito, K-I-S-S-I-N-G. [Us Weekly]
- Andy Cohen auditioned for Sex and the City because, duh, of course he did. [E! News]
- Alison Brie and Dave Franco fell in love after 48 hours of “drugs, sex, a lot of making out.” [People]