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Kate Winslet regrets not calling out 'bullying' journalists. Young women, please take note.

"If I could turn back the clock, I would have used my voice in a completely different way."

Photo credits: Maggie (Maggiejumps) (left) GabboT (right)

Kate Winslet reflects on how her younger self interacted with the media.

When you're a celebrity in the spotlight, especially if you're a woman, your looks are constantly placed under a microscope. Every wrinkle on your face, every pound you gain or lose, every time the paparazzi catches up to you on a bad hair day, it's all fodder for a hungry entertainment media machine that thrives on scrutinizing beauty.

Kate Winslet should know. As an actress who made a name for herself in Hollywood as a young woman, her body size and shape was often a topic of conversation. Winslet was 22 years old when she played the role of Rose in "Titanic," and she has said that the fame that followed that film was "horrible," largely because of the media attention and the pressure to look a certain way.

“Apparently I was too fat,” Winslet said in an interview on the "Happy Sad Confused" Podcast in 2022. “Why were they so mean to me? They were so mean. I wasn’t even f--ing fat." Some media commentators were unabashed in their fat shaming, and commentary about her body went on for years.

Winslet expressed regret that she didn't push back more against "bullying" and "borderline abusive" journalists back in the day, and it's a good reminder for younger women today to use their voices to speak up when this kind of thing happens.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

"If I could turn back the clock I would have used my voice in a completely different way," Winslet said. "I would have responded to journalists: 'Don't you dare treat me like this. I'm a young woman. My body's changing. I'm figuring it out. I'm deeply insecure. I'm terrified. Don't make this any harder than it already is.' That's bullying, you know, and actually, borderline abusive, I would say."

She said it's "getting better" but there's still a long ways to go. "Even if an actress walks out on a red carpet and happens to look amazing in whatever she's wearing, the fact that people will say, 'Looks honed and toned' or, dreadful word, 'svelte.' Don't even say it! It's such an irresponsible thing to do, and it feeds directly into young women aspiring to ideas of perfection that don't exist, aspiring to have bodies that the press are saying that we have."

kate winslet win GIF by BAFTAGiphy

Then she laid down the raw, real truth about those fancy red carpet events: "It's for one night and one night only that we're in that damn dress. And believe you me, mine comes straight off the second I'm in the car on the way home, and I'm in my pajamas, eating chips and farting. That's what we do!"

It's not always easy to know what to do or say in the moment when you are being mistreated, but hearing Winslet say what she wished she had said is a lesson for younger women everywhere. At the time, she may have felt helpless, but she wasn't. She had a voice and laments not using it.

Winslet also spoke to 60 minutes in 2024 and recalled the comments made about her on the red carpet during "Titanic" awards season, when journalists said she looked "a little melted and poured into that dress" and that she needed to have gotten one "two sizes larger."

“It’s absolutely appalling,” Winslet said. “What kind of a person must they be to do something like that to a young actress who’s just trying to figure it out?”

She said she did confront someone in the press face-to-face once, saying, "I hope this haunts you." Tearing up remembering that time, Winslet said, "It was a great moment. It was a great moment because it wasn't just for me. It was for all those people who were subjected to that level of harassment. It was horrific. It twas really bad."

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

Kudos to Kate Winslet for once again being a real one, reminding us that beauty is something far more than the way someone looks and that bullying or harassment of anyone, even people in the public eye, is never okay.

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Sports? The Royal Family? Joe Rogan? 15 things people can’t believe adults take seriously.

"Sports. I get it. It's entertainment. But calm down. You aren't on the team."

via Daveynin/Flickr and Do512/Flickr

Should adults take sports or Joe Rogan so seriously?

When we take a look at humanity, there are countless things we take seriously, that may not matter in the grand scheme of things. Many of us also have a soft spot for ideas that aren’t exactly scientific.

No one is perfect, and it's okay for us to take pleasure in being invested in some forms of inconsequential entertainment simply because they are fun. The trouble comes when people waste their lives and resources on ridiculous things that do more harm than good.

The key idea is that no one is immune from taking something seriously that others may think is a waste of time. But, to each their own or vive la différence as the French put it.

A Redditor who goes by the username Hogw33d asked the AskReddit forum, “What is something you can't believe real grownup people take seriously?” Many people responded that they don’t understand how some people can invest so much time and energy into things they deem frivolous.

The list was a great way for some to vent but it also provides a solid skeptics guide to some of the pitfalls we may unwillingly fall into in life.

Here are 15 things people “can’t believe” that “real grownup people take seriously.”

​1. Community theater

"This is niche but community theatre. The DRAMA among grown adults is insane, worse than when I was in high school. Like yall, we are singing and dancing and wearing silly costumes. It’s not that serious." — MediocreVideo1893

2. MLMs (multi-level marketing)

"I just don't understand how people keep falling for it. They always think that there's a difference. It's all the same pyramid scheme y'all." — IsItTurkeyNeckorDick

"I think we should take them way more seriously. They can do massive damage to a person's financial and mental health. We need to stop treating them as a cute thing that naive people get sucked into, and ban them for the scam they are." — Hydro123456

3. Flat Earthers

"I think it actually started as a sort of debating society. Just for people to practice and become better at rhetoric. But, they actually convinced some people and now, this is what we have." — Addicus

"There’s one of those apocryphal quotes that goes along the lines of, 'Any group of people that get their laughs pretending to be idiots is bound to be taken over by actual idiots who think they’ve found good company." — RilohKeen

4. Social media outrage

"Social media in general. Too many people believe every clickbait headline or buy into whatever trend is taking over. Feels like people can't self soothe and need the validation or something, it's just weird." — Cynn13

"'Outrage over Z' 'People slam Y' And it's only like a few people on Twitter or Reddit and they present it as some huge backlash or major issue lol." — Sclubadubdub

"The political news channels do almost nothing other than this. They tell viewers the other party is outraged about something that you never find a real person outraged by and create culture wars that no one is actually fighting." — Herbdontana

5. Reality TV

"It's all fake, too. An acquaintance of mine works at a major studio. Those shows are all scripted and fake." — SpaceMoneky3301967

6. Sports fans

"People take being a fan of a sport (or team) way too seriously, imo. I promise you don't need to riot because 'your team' lost." — AdmirableProgress743

"My husband works himself into such a state over something he can't control and is, imo, of absolutely no consequence to his life. He's toned it down because I told him the screaming and cursing terrorize me and our daughter. But he stews and mutters obscenities." — Complex_Yam_5390

7. Scientology

"Might as well just say every religion. They're all coocoo bonkers." — JenniferC1714

8. Gossip

"Gossip in general. I live in a small town and it is maddening how people here are so serious about it. It's not light fun chatting, it's all SCANDAL and we need to take ACTION. I swear a lot of people's problems would be immediately solved if they just stopped giving a sh*t what everyone else does (to an extent)." — Buffalopantry

9. Facebook

"My mom will literally call me up if I didn't like a recent post of hers. There have been a few times where she asked why I didn't like every photo she just posted. It's maddening. I've also had periods of deactivating my fb only for my mom to guilt me into reactivating it." — Zealousideal_Mix6771

10. Billionaire 'geniuses'

"Elon Musk and other billionaire 'geniuses.' People are pretty freaking gullible." — GladysSchwartz23

"Most average people don’t realize that being incredibly smart doesn’t automatically mean you are good at doing things like running a large company. They tend to assume people at the top must be there based on merit. In reality, there are some massively stupid people running huge companies, and there some brilliant people who are shoveling shit for a living." — Captcha_Trampstamp

11. The royal family

"I have a news app on my phone and no matter how much I tweak my interest to avoid any gossip BS I still get "Breaking News! Some insignificant bullshit about the Royals". It's not news, it's not interesting, stop reporting this utter drivel." — Sclubadubdub

12. Religion

“The creator of the universe impregnated a virgin, only to deliberately kill the child 30 years later, to save people from…himself.” — Opteryx5

"I grew up figuring everyone was just roleplaying and was shocked to learn religion is taken seriously by many people. It was a real eye-opener for someone who grew up in a secular environment." — Kilterboard_addict

13. Vaccine skeptics

"I work in medicine and am starting to get really worried about the vaccine skepticism. It used to be a little more rare, so I would counsel, they spout incorrect information, I tell give a little retort/response, and then move on because time is tight. But now it’s happening so often that I’m working way harder to persuade because I feel a strong obligation to fight all the bullshit info that has obviously taken hold." — KellyNJames

14. Loud exhaust systems on cars

"As someone who lives next to traffic lights and can hear all y'all shi**y music and loud exhausts all day... I approve this message." — Rainbow-Singbird

15. Joe Rogan

"The whole 'I’m just an idiot don’t pay any attention to what I say' schtick doesn’t really work anymore." — FoucaultsPrudendum

"It was great when he had a guest that was in academia, like a physicist or something. I would skip over most of the comedy buddy circle jerks he would host. Then when COVID happened I had to stop entirely. He fully went off the deep end then. Still, he introduced me to Dan Carlin's work, for which I am very grateful." — Xczechir

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From comedies to kickass concerts, these two creatives are here to make social impact fun

Aaron Brown and Lenny Barszap raised millions for the unhoused community in a movement they've named "Trojan-horse social impact."

Lenny Barszap (Left) Aaron Brown (right)/ (The Pharcyde, Brownout, Adrian Quesada, Lenny Barszap, Chris Rogers (muralist), Chris Baker (TOOF), Aaron Brown) - photo credit IIsmael Quintanilla III

Have fun doing good.

There is often a distinct line between social impact—that is, something meant to provoke thought, connect us to our humanity, inspire positive change, etc.—and entertainment, which provides us a fun escape.

But sometimes that line can become blurred in innovative ways, allowing entertainment itself to be the change agent.

This is the concept behind creative partners Aaron Brown (Onion Creek Productions) and Lenny Barszap (Entertaining Entertainment)’s Been There music festivals, which are specifically intended to be social movements in disguise.

But first, let’s go back to 1997 when Brown and Barszap were in college. They met an unhoused former professor living in the park at the end of their block - a chance encounter that would change their lives forever.

Not wanting the man to suffer Texas’ infamous storms, Brown and Barszap offered the man a chance to crash on their porch—and later their couch as boundaries began to soften—which began a nearly yearlong chapter of bonding with him and others from his community.

Their relationship, along with the antics that ensued, would later become the basis for “Home Free,” a coming-of-age college comedy that Barszap calls “‘Dazed & Confused’ meets ‘Superbad,’” which premiered at Hollywood's iconic Chinese Theatre in July 2023 and earned rave reviews, including one from Kevin Smith saying it is “the most important comedy you’ll see this year.”

And while “Home Free” succeeds in providing laugh out loud moments, Brown and Barszap hoped it could be the first of many “Trojan horse-style social impact films,” using humor as the spoonful of sugar to raise awareness on the serious issue of homelessness.

That’s why the duo partnered with The Other Ones Foundation (TOOF), an organization that offers people in Austin, TX facing homelessness shelter, opportunities and support. Through this partnership, six percent of all donations raised for Brown and Barszap’s film went directly to the foundation. In addition, 10% of the film's profits were earmarked for TOOF and other nonprofits fighting to end homelessness.

Which brings us back to Been There, which got its title as a way of suggesting “we can get beyond homelessness and someday look back from a new perspective with empathy.”

Here’s how it started: In 2021, TOOF had recently begun supporting a tent encampment of around 200 people experiencing homelessness in East Austin, later renamed The Esperanza Community. Brown and Barszap began making relationships with Esperanza’s residents during production of “Home Free” (especially when filming was slowed to a halt during COVID).

Before/After images of The Esperanza Community

That year, Austin had been hit by some severe ice storms, causing power outages and devastating the tent community. And while replenishing supplies would have been enough to help the neighborhood recover, Barszap and Brown thought “why not go beyond necessities and replenish people’s spirits as well?”

And so, the pair called upon their musician friends, who just so happened to be Grammy award-winning heavy hitters in the industry, to put on a kickass private music festival.

The Esperanza community got to enjoy the talents of Adrian Quesada, best known for his work with The Black Pumas, as well as local legends like the latin funk orchestra Grupo Fantasma and indie darlings Wild Child, just to name a few. And even better, though no one intended to make the event a fundraiser, a couple of inspired attendees donated a collective $600,000 to TOOF on the spot.

Because their first event was such a success, another Been There festival was held in 2023, this time intended as a fundraiser, composed of musical heroes from the 90s and local Austin heavyweights. Headlining the act was legendary hip hop group The Pharcyde, who also contributed two new songs to the original soundtrack for “Home Free,” produced by Adrian Quesada. The Pharcyde were accompanied for the first time ever by a live band, Austin’s Latin-funk heroes Brownout who have backed the likes of Prince, GZA and many more.

Barszap told Upworthy the second festival was an even bigger hit. Not just because of the money it raised, but because it brought people together who might normally be separated by social barriers. And it all took place in Esperanza, which has now become a flourishing transitional tiny home community.

“It was incredible…so many showed up to the event and were surprised they were having an amazing night with people who were transitioning out of homelessness and getting back on their feet. Everyone was so moved that we raised over $1million that day, enough to build over 100 new tiny homes for The Esperanza Community,” he said.

(The Pharcyde, Brownout, Adrian Quesada, Lenny Barszap, Chris Rogers (muralist), Chris Baker (TOOF), Aaron Brown) - photo credit IIsmael Quintanilla III

The first two Been There music Fests were hosted at The Esperanza Community in Austin but Barszap and Brown envision a series of Been There's in cities across the country. "When you see the power of artists coming together to help our neighbors and spotlight the organizations doing the most innovative work, it's undeniable. We've seen first-hand how music and art can change lives," says Brown.

As more non-profit music festivals similar to Been There continue popping up across the country, both to reinvigorate those who are disenchanted with how capitalism has affected the industry, it’s becoming clear that this is more than a novel concept—it’s a style of entertainment that people actually want to participate in.

As for what the future holds: today, Been There is more than a music festival. It has transformed into a non-profit in its own right, bringing even more “Trojan horse-style social impact entertainment that kick-starts a movement” including festivals, films, art, music and proving that making a difference doesn’t have to be a chore or byproduct of guilt.

Lenny Barszap (Left) Aaron Brown (right)

Maybe it’s not so impossible to, as Barszap puts it, “have fun doing good.”

If you’d like to support more of Been There’s impactful entertainment, donate here.

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Taylor Swift praises 'gem' of a friend Beyoncé in a powerful display of female friendship

Swift was named Time's 2023 Person of the Year and used it to lift up other women.

photo by J.ébey/Wikipedia, photo by Angela George/Wikipedia

Tyalor Swift was recently names TIME's Person of the Year

On December 6, 2023, Taylor Swift was named TIME magazine’s Person of the Year, not only for her achievements as an entertainer, but as a changemaker.

In an exclusive interview with TIME, Swift spoke on a range of topics, including overcoming challenges in her career, navigating being “raised up and down the flagpole of public opinion” and key relationships that made her who she is today—one being her friendship with Beyoncé.

For years the media has made the two chart-topping artists out to be “frenemies” at best, a well-known catalyst moment being during the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards show when Ye, formerly Kanye West, interrupted a then 19-year-old Swift during her acceptance speech for Best Female Video to go on a tirade about how Beyoncé should have won.

However, both women would go on to challenge this narrative of rivalry with their support of one another, be it at other awards shows, networking events, online or making guest appearances at each other’s record-shattering concert film premieres.

And in her interview with TIME, Swift couldn’t help but gush over her fellow music icon.

“She’s the most precious gem of a person — warm and open and funny," she told TIME. “And she’s such a great disrupter of music-industry norms. She taught every artist how to flip the table and challenge archaic business practices.”

Swift then argued that any supposed rivalry between her and Beyoncé was merely a thinly veiled marketing ploy:

“There were so many stadium tours this summer, but the only ones that were compared were me and Beyoncé. Clearly, it’s very lucrative for the media and stan culture to pit two women against each other, even when those two artists in question refuse to participate in that discussion.”

But that needs to change.

"I've never felt like there was a need for female artists to be in competition. There's room for everyone to shine,” she said.

It’s such a simple statement, but a powerful one—one that epitomizes a real turning point for how female friendships are portrayed in the media. More and more (think back to Jamie Lee Curtis hyping up Michelle Yeoh for her Golden Globe win earlier this year) we are seeing female peers swap out jealousy for being supportive of one another and celebrating each other's successes. In a world that still often divides women, this kind of solidarity feels pivotal.

Swift continues to use her massive platform as a force for good—avocating for women and girls, challenging negative stereotypes and encouraging positivity. And especially this year, her work has inspired coming together in pure joy. It was for these reasons that TIMES’ Sam Jacobs said the magazine awarded her with the honor. Here’s to that well deserved recognition continued her message for generations to come.

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