Modern Beauty Trends: In: Muhammad Ali’s Model Grandson

Muhammad Ali’s grandson is both a model and a college football player. Meanwhile, both Taylor Swift and Disney pile on the press.
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“Time is weird in your 20s. It's intense, and you feel like it's running out. But you'll get to 30 and see you are still here on the planet.” – Parker Posey

A Free Press

Censors

Taylor Swift’s political inclinations have been a source of major intrigue for certain parts of the Internet, and that, in turn, seems to concern Taylor Swift. A lefty culture website known was PopFront wrote an article detailing how members of the “alt-right” and other extremist groups have claimed Swift as their own, and Swift’s legal team apparently sent the small site a strongly worded letter demanding that it be taken down. Well, the ACLU of California got wind of it and put Swift’s team on public blast for the legal maneuvering they had wished to keep private. It didn’t go so great for Swift. Meanwhile, Disney found itself in its own press censorship fiasco this week when it banned Los Angeles Times critics from screenings of Thor: Ragnarok after the paper published stories critical of the special tax breaks Disney received for its theme parks in Anaheim (you know, standard local newspaper reporting). The LA Times put Disney on public blast once again, and the backlash was fierce. Critics groups promised to ban Disney films from awards consideration. Even Ava DuVernay, who is directing an upcoming Disney flick, sided with the press. Eventually, the company relented and said it would allow LA Times critics in to all future screening.

More White House Drama

Omarosa

It’s sort of amazing that Omarosa Manigault, one of a handful of pioneers who literally wrote the book on how to be a reality television villain, is a member of the White House staff...and not even the most controversial member. Well, in the court of public opinion. But she has caused some controversy within the White House. Back in April, Omarosa got married and her entire 39-person wedding party showed up unannounced to the White House to take pictures, catching at least some of the people who were actually working that day off guard. The tidbit comes from Politico, which reported that while it’s not clear whether she got permission, she was banned from posting the photos online. Though, as it turns out, it may be part of a larger pattern of problems with Manigault’s department, the Office of Public Liaison. The office’s job is to drum up support for the White House’s agenda with allies outside of government, and, well, that hasn’t been happening too much lately with the Trump agenda.

Mr. Robot, Which Is Apparently Great Again

Falling Behind in Hype

In such a crowded television landscape it’s kind of amazing how Mr. Robot took the entire industry by storm during its debut in 2015. It picked up a Golden Globe for best drama and an Emmy for star Rami Malek during that first season, but then something unfortunate happened: a sophomore slump. The show’s second season was divisive, to put it mildly, but four episodes into its third year the show is back in top form and really wants to make it clear with tonight’s episode. The USA show is promising “a groundbreaking episode” free of commercials, and EW is claiming it is “unlike anything the show has done before, in the best way possible.” Creator Sam Esmail tells IndieWire he won’t even tell his friends about it. That’s a lot of hype to level on a single episode, but we guess that’s just the game that has to be played in today’s world of way too much television. It should be interesting to see if it pays off, and if we see more shows that have lost a bit of steam pull out all the stops for a single episode to get back on the hype train.

Biaggio Ali Walsh

@BiaggioAliWalsh

Being Muhammad Ali’s grandson isn’t an accomplishment itself necessarily, but it is a calling card. Biaggio Ali Walsh is interesting for other reasons besides his lineage, however. He is both a model signed to Wilhelmina’s Vancouver office and a college running back for the California Golden Bears. Get to know him better here.