Biodun Iginla, BBC News

Biodun Iginla, BBC News
Showing posts with label BBC Newsbeat. Show all posts
Showing posts with label BBC Newsbeat. Show all posts

Monday, November 20, 2017

US writer Zinzi Clemmons accuses Girls star Lena Dunham of 'hipster racism'



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3 hours ago

Lena Dunham
A black feminist writer has urged women of colour to cut ties with Lena Dunham and accused the actress of "hipster racism".
Zinzi Clemmons, a former contributor to Lena's website Lenny Letter, made her claims on Facebook and Twitter.
Zinzi claims she "ran in the same circles" as Lena while she was studying.
Newsbeat has contacted Lena Dunham's representatives for a response to Zinzi's statement.
Zinzi says she was in the same year as Jemima Kirke, who starred in Girls with Lena, at Brown University in America.
"I avoided those people like the plague because of their well-known racism," said Zinzi in the original Facebook post.
"I'd call their strain 'hipster racism', which typically uses sarcasm as a cover.
"In Lena's circle, there was a girl who was known to use the N word in conversation in order to be provocative, and if she was ever called on it, she would say 'it's just a joke.'
"I was often in the same room with her, but I never spoke to her, only watched her from afar in anxiety and horror."
Jennifer Konner and Lena Dunham
Image captionLena created Lenny Letter with writer and producer Jennifer Konner, who also worked on Girls
Zinzi says she was inspired to cut professional ties with Lena and Lenny Letter after the actress supported a friend who had been accused of sexual assault.
Lena recently apologised for defending Murray Miller, a writer who worked on her TV show Girls, after allegations made by actress Aurora Perrineau.
Zinzi also claims that the people she referenced were still being supported by Lena.
Zinzi also claims in her written statement that a friend suffered abuse from someone else in Lena Dunham's social circle.
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Linkin Park dedicate American Music Award win to Chester Bennington



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5 hours ago

Linkin Park at the American Music Awards 2017
Linkin Park dedicated their win at the American Music Awards to former lead singer Chester Bennington.
Guitarist Mike Shinoda said the trophy was for "his memory, his talent, his sense of humour, to his joy".
Chester, 41, was found dead at his home in California in July. A coroner said the star apparently hanged himself.
"All of you tonight, whether you're a fan or an artist, I want you to take a moment to appreciate what you've got and make Chester proud," Mike added.
The band picked up the favourite artist in the alternative rock category gong at last night's awards.
Linkin Park recently announced they'll release an album in December. The songs featured will be from live recordings from the band's One More Light tour.
Jared Leto
Image captionJared Leto announced Bruno Mars as artist of the year
Bruno Mars was the night's big winner at the star-studded ceremony in Los Angeles.
The singer, nominated for eight awards, won seven including artist and video of the year.
His album 24K Magic was also crowned best pop/rock album, although as he's on tour in Brazil he accepted the awards via a video recording from his tour bus.
Niall Horan was named best new artist while Luis Fonsi, Daddy Yankee and Justin Bieber picked up the best collaboration prize for their efforts on Despacito.
Performers on the night included Pink, Shawn Mendes and Hailee Steinfeld.
Demi Lovato and Danica Roem
Image captionDemi posted a photo with Danica on Instagram
One of the night's other performers was Demi Lovato.
The 25-year-old, who's an active LGBT campaigner, invited transgender politician Danica Roem to the ceremony.
The singer wrote on Instagram: "Danica put up with a lot of hate by people who said she couldn't win but she did.
"Her story is so inspiring and I was so proud to have her next to me before the performance for Sorry Not Sorry which is an unapologetic anthem to all haters out there."
Diana Ross and family
Image captionDiana Ross attended the awards with her large family
Elsewhere Motown icon Diana Ross made it a family affair as she collected the lifetime achievement award.
The 73-year-old was joined by several generations of her family including her daughter, actress and presenter Tracee Ellis Ross.
K-pop group BTS
Image captionBTS performed their hit DNA at the event
One of the biggest cheers of the night was reserved for K-Pop act BTS.
The Korean seven-piece pop group performed their their viral hit DNA.
Selena Gomez was accused of lip-syncing in her return to the stage after having a kidney transplant.
Selena Gomez
The 25-year-old performed Wolves and was her first live performance since she had a transplant earlier this year.
But some viewers were unimpressed, which ended with the singer shrugging and saying "thank you" to fans.
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